Opposition parties in Cameroon have united in condemning the government's suspension of the Cameroon National Salvation Front (FSNC), the party of exiled opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, describing the three-month ban as a calculated attempt to sideline a rival months before legislative and municipal elections.

Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji signed the order on Tuesday, 27 October, halting all FSNC activities across the country for three months. The order warns that anyone who defies the ban could face prosecution. It stops short of dissolving the party.

The government's case

According to the ministerial order, the suspension rests on several grounds:

  • alleged incitement to insurrection before, during and after the October 2025 presidential election;
  • threats to territorial integrity and national unity;
  • incitement to violence that destroyed public and private property;
  • serious disturbances of public order; and
  • the fact that one of the party's statutory leaders lives abroad.

The order also cites convictions handed down by the Yaounde Military Court on 8 October 2026 in cases linked to the post-election unrest.

A long shadow from the 2025 vote

Tchiroma, a former government minister and one-time ally of President Paul Biya, came second in the October 2025 presidential election. The Constitutional Council declared Biya, in power since 1982, the winner with 53.66 per cent against 35.19 per cent for Tchiroma.

Tchiroma claimed victory before official results were announced, alleged fraud and called on supporters to resist. Protests and clashes with security forces followed in Garoua, Douala and Yaounde. A UN report cited official figures of 16 deaths over two days, while civil society groups put the toll at between 39 and 48, with close to 2,000 arrests. Tchiroma later left the country and is reported to be living in The Gambia, from where he continues to dispute the result.

'Unjust' and 'a blatant manoeuvre'

Reaction from other opposition groups was swift. The leftist MANIDEM party called the suspension unjust and a blatant manoeuvre, according to Africanews and AFP. The Front for Change in Cameroon warned that the decision threatens any prospect of a fair electoral contest, while the Democratic Union of Cameroon urged authorities to make the coming elections as inclusive as possible. Another party described the ban as a form of revenge.

The FSNC holds two seats in the National Assembly. The parliamentary and municipal elections, already postponed, are expected in early 2027, meaning the three-month ban will cover a key stretch of the pre-election period.

Critics say the move fits a pattern of shrinking space for dissent in Cameroon. The government says it is acting to protect public order and national unity.

Photos: Africanews/Euronews (Issa Tchiroma voting); M.E. Kindzeka/VOA via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) (FSNC supporters in Garoua). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.