2025 Presidential Election: Opposition Alliance For Peaceful Transition Launches Process To Select Its Presidential Candidate

 The alliance has adopted a rather controversial system to select its candidate by organizing a primary for aspirants

The breakaway of Nkou Mvondo and his Parti UNIVERS, puts the alliance in a very delicate situation  

There are indications that the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition in Cameroon (former Alliance for a Political Transition in Cameroon), which is an opposition coalition led by its initiator, Prof Olivier Bile, will soon designate its candidate for the 2025 presidential election. The candidate of the opposition coalition for the 2025 presidential election is expected to be made public probably before this year runs out, or early next year.

But the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition which is commonly known as ATP (  L‘Alliance pour une Transition Pacifique’),  has adopted a rather controversial way  to select its candidate for the presidential election.  The alliance is to organize a primary for members that are interested to be the platform’s presidential candidate. This is something that can end up destroying the alliance, if proper care is not taken.

Organizing Committee

Meanwhile the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition has set up an Organizing Committee to receive candidature, and organize the primary to select the party’s candidate for the 2025 presidential election. Members of the Organizing Committee include Dr Florient Ndzana , Dr Ayissi Yves, Momo Brice Bienvenue, and Mvolo Hubert. The Organizing Committee held a meeting on September 23, 2024, at the end of which the committee announced in a communiqué that the deadline for the reception of candidatures for the primary, is November 15, 2024 at midnight.

Some members have already deposited their candidatures. The Mentor has learnt for example that the National President of APAR, Celestin Djamen, has sent in his candidature to be the flag bearer of the alliance at the 2025 presidential election.

Manifesto Of The Alliance Is Ready

Last June, the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition ignored the banning order of the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji,  who controversially claims that political alliances or coalitions are supposed to be registered  like political parties, and went ahead to  formally launch its activities at a press conference in Yaounde. The major highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the Manifesto of the alliance to the public. By then ATP had onboard a total of 8 political parties, and over a dozen civil society groups and personalities. But the only major party in the alliance is the PCRN, which has as National President, Hon Cabral Libii Ngue. Though Cabral Libii was not present at the press conference, he however signed the Manifesto of  the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition, thus confirming that his party was onboard the platform.

The 8 political parties whose leaders signed the Manifesto of the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition by the time the coalition formally launched its activities, were as follows:

• Les Liberateurs of Prof Olivier Bile. 2) PCRN of Hon Cabral Libii Ngue. 3) MDI of Djeukam Tchameni. 4) APAR of Celestin Djamen. 5) LCN of Prof Minyem George. 6) Mouvement A18 / A25 of Dr Florient Ndzana Jean Marie. 7) PSC /UPS of Djemba Jean Pierre (Vice President). 8) Parti UNIVERS of Prof Nkou Mvondo Prosper.

As can be seen, it is an alliance with many intellectuals.  The alliance is also said to have onboard over 15 civil society organizations or leaders, though their names have so far never been made public by the alliance. The renowned civil society actor, Dr Hubert Kamga, was at one point a member of the alliance. It is not clear whether he is still in the alliance.

Seven more political parties are said to have joined the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition after the launch, thus taking the number of political parties in the alliance to 15. This new figure was contained in the September 23 release of the Organizing Committee of the primary for the selection of the alliance’s candidate for the 2025 presidential election.  The 15 parties included Nkou Mvondo’s Parti UNIVERS.

But Only 2 Out Of The 15 Parties Can Have A Presidential Candidate

But it should be noted that out of the 15 political parties mentioned, only 2 are qualified by Law to send in candidates for the 2025 presidential election. The two parties are Hon Cabral Libii’s PCRN and Prof Nkou Mvondo’s Parti UNIVERS.

The Law says for a party to qualify to have a flag bearer at the 2025 presidential election, the party should either be present in parliament, which means that it should have at least one member of the National Assembly or member of Senate, or that the party should have at least one municipal councilor or one regional councilor.

Political Platform, And Not A Political Party

It should be noted that the Alliance for a Peaceful Change led by Prof Olivier Bile, just like the Political Alliance for Change that has Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu as Interim National Coordinator, is not a political party. As Prof Bile rightly argued when the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, declared that the alliance was operating illegally, a political alliance or coalition is a platform of a number of legalized political parties, and not a political party.

This also means that though a political alliance can select the candidate to support at the presidential election, the candidate cannot however officially run for the presidential election on the ticket of the alliance. So the candidate to be selected by the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition for the 2025 presidential election will only be able to run for the election on the ticket of a member (party) that is qualified to send in a candidate for the election.

PCRN And Parti UNIVERS

Cabral Libii’s PCRN have 5 MPS, runs 5 councils, and also have quite a number of councilors, in a number of other councils in the Littoral Region. For example in the big Douala 3 and 5 Councils which 61 councilors each, that the CPDM both won by simple majority, the PCRN  was   3^rd and 2^nd respectively, at the last municipal elections, and thus got quite a number of councilors. PCRN has a Deputy Mayor at the Douala 5 Council. It also has another Deputy Mayor in a council at Edea where the CPDM won by simple Majority, with the PCRN coming second. In fact PCRN has a total of 72 councilors in the Littoral Region.

Nkou Mvondo Has Left With His Parti UNIVERS

Meanwhile when the Organizing Committee of the primary, in the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition, on September 23 said they were 15 political parties in the alliance, Nkou Mvondo’s Parti UNIVERS was counted amongst the 15.  But on Saturday, September 28, Nkou Mvondo and his Parti UNIVERS appeared at event in Yaounde, as the leader of a new opposition alliance without a name, that has Barrister Akere Muna of the NOW Movement, as its candidate for the 2025 presidential election. This means that Parti UNIVERS has banged the door of the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition, and created another alliance.

. Alliance For Peaceful Transition In A Delicate Situation

Thus as can be seen, the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition in Cameroon is in a very delicate situation. With the withdrawal of Parti UNIVERS, only one party, that is Cabral Libii’s PCRN, out of the 14 parties left in the alliance, can send in a candidate at the 2025 presidential election. The other 13 parties of the alliance today, have no MP, no regional councilor, and not even a single municipal councilor. And many of their leaders want to be presidential candidates.  The situation is thus very delicate for the Alliance for a Peaceful Transition, because if PCRN also decides to pull out today, the alliance will be in a big mess. In such a situation, the alliance will not have a party on whose ticket its candidate for the 2024 presidential election will run, unless it is able to bring onboard a political party that has at least a municipal councilor somewhere.