Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
But There Have Been Questions On The Real Criteria The Team Used To Select The 18 Divisions. Many Observers Agree That The Selection Was Not Only Based On The Number Of Registered Voters Or Population As The Team Claimed. Why For Example, Were Mezam And Fako Divisions Then Left Out, If The Criteria Were Just On The Number Of Registered Voters Or Population?
Less than 48 hours after the October 12, 2025 presidential election, the FSNC leader and presidential candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary (former member of government), declared himself winner of the election, and thus projected himself as the President –elect of Cameroon. He promised his supporters and sympathizers that his team, would come out with detailed reports of votes by regions (region by region), “compiled from the results publicly posted, in accordance with Article 133 of the Electoral Code”, to prove that he clearly won the election.
But a couple of days later, the Tchiroma team said that they had decided to adopt another method, to publish the result of the October 12 presidential election, which would clearly or indisputably show that their candidate won the election. They explained that they had selected a total of 18 Divisions across the country, and that the total number of registered voters in the 18 regions, constituted a total of 80 % of registered voters in the country which has a total of 58 Divisions.
This, logically meant that if the candidate, who came first in the total number of votes cast in the 18 Divisions had a big lead from the second, it could be said without doubt that he was the winner of the election. This was with the understanding that from the result of the election in the 18 Divisions which has 80 % of voters, there was just no way that the candidate on the second position could catch up with the first, in the result of the 20 % of voters left, that were in the other 40 Divisions. So in a nutshell, Issa Tchiroma’s team claimed that 80 % of registered voters in the country, for the October 12, 2025 presidential election, were in 18 Divisions, while, only 20 % of registered voters were in the remaining 40 Divisions of the country.
The 18 Divisions That Allegedly Have 80 % Of Voters
In presenting the 18 Divisions that were selected by the Issa Tchiroma team in some regions of the country, The Mentor News will also cite the major town or towns in each of the Divisions, as well as cite the regions, in a bid to enable readers to easily locate the Divisions. It is no secret that many Cameroonians cannot tell you the names of the Divisions outside their regions.
The 18 Divisions that were selected by the Issa Tchiroma team were as follows: 1) Wouri Division (Douala) in the Littoral Region. 2) Mungo Division (Nkongsanba, Loum, Mbanga) in the Littoral Region. 3) Mfoundi Division (Yaounde) in the Centre Region). 4) Lekie Division (Monatele, Sa’ar) in the Centre Region. 5) Lom and Djerem Division (Bertoua, Belabo, Garoua Boulai) in the East Region. 6) Mifi Division (Bafoussam) in the West Region. 7) Menoua Division (Dschang, Penka Michel, Santchou) in the West Region. 8) Noun Division (Foumban, Foumbot) in the West Region. 9) Vina Division (Ngaoundere) in the Adamawa Region. 10) Mayo Louti Division (Figuil, Guider) in the North Region. 11) Mayo Rey (Tcholire, Rey Bouba) in the North Region. 12) Benoue Division (Garoua) in the North Region. 13) Mayo Sava Division (Tokombere) in the Far North Region. 14) Mayo Tsanaga Division (Mokolo) in the Far North Region. 15) Logone and Chari Division (Kousseri, Waza, Fotokol, Maga) in the Far North Region. 16) Diamare Division (Maroua) in the Far North Region). 17) Mayo Kani Division (Kaele) in the Far North Region. 18) Mayo Danay Division (Yagoua) in the Far North Region.
What Criteria Did The Tchiroma Team Use To Select The 18 Divisions?
From all indications, the criteria that were used by Issa Tchiroma’s team, to select almost all of the 18 Divisions, were rather based more on the fact that they were localities, that were considered by Tchiroma and his team, could be favourable to him, in terms of votes in the October 12, 2025 presidential election. It was not just a matter of number of registered voters or population as the Tchiroma team claimed, in a show of political manipulation. In fact almost all the 18 Divisions were selected based on the assessment of support, for Tchiroma’s candidature, that was done by his team.
From the look of things, it was only Noun Division in that list of 18 Divisions, that the Tchiroma team certainly knew he could not win there, considering the fact the CDU leader, Hermine Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, Mayor of Foumban, was a presidential candidate. However considering that Noun is a Moslem dominated Division, and is close to the Grand North, precisely the Adamawa Region, the Tchiroma team, had seemingly hoped that Tchiroma could grab a sizable amount of votes in Noun Division.
The Case Of Mezam And Fako Divisions
Meanwhile, Mezam Division (Bamenda 1 – 3, Bafut, Bali Nyonga, Santa, Bambili) and Fako Division (Limbe 1 – 3, Buea, Tiko, Muyuka, Mutengene) for example, were normally supposed to feature on such a list, be it in terms of population or number of registered voters. But theIssa Tchiroma’s team probably left out Mezam and Fako Divisions, because of the fact that in reality there was no real election in these two Anglophone Divisions, because of the crisis, especially the ghost town that was declared by separatist fighters.
10 Of The 18 Divisions Are In The Grand North
Talking about areas that were considered favourable to Issa Tchiroma Bakary in the October 12, 2025 presidential election in the list of 18 selected Divisions, It should be noted that it was not a coincidence that a majority, that is, 10 out of the 18 Divisions that the Tchiroma team selected, are in the three northern regions (Adamawa, Far North and North Regions) commonly known as Grand North, from where Tchiroma hails. The big momentum that grew in support of Issa Tchiroma’s candidature for the October 12 presidential election, in the Grand North, was quite visible during the election campaign.
MRC Strongholds In The Southern Part Of The Country
Still talking about areas that were considered favourable to Issa Tchiroma Bakary in the list of 18 Divisions, it should be noted that almost all the Divisions, that the Tchiroma team selected in the Southern part of the country like Wouri Division (Douala), Mfoundi Division (Yaounde), Menoua Division (Dschang) and Mifi Division (Bafoussam), and Mungo Division (Nkongsamba, Mbanga, Loum), are strongholds of Maurice Kamto’s MRC Party. Kamto and MRC did not officially take part in the October 12, 2025 presidential election, because the Constitutional Council rejected his candidacy. Tens of thousands of MRC militants, including many officials of the party, then decided to support Tchiroma’s candidacy at the election.
Worthy of note, that in the official result of the 2018 presidential election, Prof Maurice Kamto won the Littoral Region thanks to Douala (Wouri Division). He also won in Menoua (Dschang) and Mifi (Bafoussam) Divisions. He complained that he was robbed of his victory in a number of Divisions like Mfoundi (Yaounde). It should be noted that MRC officials and militants, though as individuals, were heavily involved in Issa Tchiroma’s campaign for the October 12, 2025 presidential election in the Southern part of the country, and contributed much to his good performance in these MRC strongholds – Wouri, Mungo, Menoua, Mifi and Mfoundi Divisions.
