Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
The Deadline For Candidates To Deposit Their Files, For Election To The Post Of National President Of MRC, Was Rescheduled For Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Which Was Two days Ago, To Respect Article 32 Of The Constitution. The MRC Extraordinary Convention Is Scheduled For October 17, 2026. Also, Why There Is Controversy With The Post Of Interim National President Of MRC.
It should first of all be recalled that Prof Maurice Kamto, who became the second National President of the MRC Party in 2017, on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, announced his resignation from the post of National President of the party. He announced the resignation in a short correspondence he addressed to the Directorate of the party. In the correspondence, Kamto said he had decided to resign for the interest of the party as well as militants and sympathizers in particular, and in general for people who want change in Cameroon. But he did not expatiate or give any clear reason for his resignation, which he said took effect as from that September 8.
In what was certainly a design rather than a coincidence, the 1st Vice National President of MRC, Mamadou Yacouba, popularly known as Mamadou Mota, also resigned. He announced his resignation in a handwritten correspondence that he addressed to the Secretary General of the party.
The resignation of the National President, and 1st Vice President of MRC, lifted the 2nd Vice President of the party, Madam Noah Tiriane Belbine Nadege, to become the Interim President of the party.
Election To Elect New National President
Meanwhile, on that same September 8, 2026, the Directorate of MRC held a meeting in Yaounde, and expressed gratitude to Prof Maurice Kamto and Mamadou Yacouba (Mota) for their years of service and sacrifices for the party, and for the interest of the country. The decision was adopted for election to hold in the party, to select a new National President, and his team. It should be noted that according to Article 68 (2) of the Internal Regulations of MRC, when the National President of the party resigns, the Directorate of the party takes note, and within 30 days of the resignation, convene an Extraordinary Convention of the party, which should hold latest 60 days after it is convened, to elect a new President. It should as well be noted that members of the Electoral College for the election, are delegates from all the 17 Federations of MRC in Cameroon and the diaspora.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of the MRC, at that September 8, 2026 meeting, adopted a decision that initially fixed the date of the Extraordinary Convention of the party for October 10, 2026. That could be understood. The MRC Directorate definitely wants to see the Extraordinary Convention of the party to hold as soon as possible, because of the much expected legislative and municipal elections. It will definitely be good for MRC, that, by the time the President of the Republic calls Cameroonians to the polls for the twin elections, the party should have had a new leader and his team in place, to ensure the smooth functioning of the party, or serenity in the party, at the period of the crucial local elections. It should be noted that the new National President of MRC, will also be the person to sign the investiture for the party’s candidates for the twin elections.
Election In MRC Is By List System
Meanwhile, the 1st Assistant Secretary General of MRC, Noah Roger Justin, by delegation of the Secretary General of the party, Barrister Ndong Christopher Mveh, after the meeting of the Directorate of MRC signed a communiqué on that September 8, 2026, announcing that election will be coming up in the party, to select the National President, 5 Vice Presidents, a Secretary General, and a National Treasurer. The election however will be by a list system. This is in accordance to Article 32 of the Statute of MRC.
It should be noted that the election in MRC, is not like that of another frontline opposition party, SDF, where the National Chairman, Vice National Chairmen, National Treasurer, and so on, are individually and democratically elected at the party’s Elective National Convention, like happened in 2023. In the MRC, each candidate for the post of National President puts up a list comprised of 5 Vice Presidents, a Secretary General, and National Treasurer. After the election, the new National President goes ahead to co-opt or appoint persons to fill the other posts. Some analysts say the list system ensures the total loyalty of members of the executive committee, executive bureau, Directorate, or whatever, to the National President of the party, and so ensures stability.
But observers say one big problem with the list system is that, the candidate for the post of National President, in selecting members of his list, tends to think more of loyalty than competence. It is the same thing with appointments that the elected National President makes later. That is why critics say the list system is a system that encourages dictatorship, as the National President or National Chairman in such a system is the only cock that crows in the party, and thus becomes too powerful.
First Deadline
Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary General of MRC in his September 8 release invited all militants, interested to run for the election to the post of National President of the party, to deposit their files at the party headquarters latest October 9, 2026 at 10am. As for the basic conditions, he stated that candidates have to at least 30 years old, should be voters, should be up to date in annual financial contributions to the party, should not be under sanction or suspension in the party, and should be of good morals.
Worthy of note that the Deputy Secretary of MRC, Noah Roger Justin, certainly deliberately, did not mention Article 29 of the Constitution of the party, which demands that to run for any high office in the party, somebody must have militated in the party for an uninterrupted period of at least three years. No comment!
A Second Date For The Convention – October 17.
Meanwhile, the 2nd Vice President of MRC, Noah Tiriane Belbine Nadege, came up with another communiqué a bit later, and announced that the date of Extraordinary Convention is October 17, 2026. She did not indicate that there was any change in the date of the Convention, as the communiqué of the First Assistant Secretary General of MRC, which came out earlier, talked of October 10. Curiously enough, the communiqué of the 2nd Vice President which came out later was also dated October 8, 2026. Interestingly still, the 2nd Vice President of MRC, Noah Tiriane Belbine Nadege, who had reportedly become the Interim National President of MRC following the resignation of the National President (Maurice Kamto) and the 1st Vice President, Mamadou Yacouba (Mota), signed the communiqué as 2nd Vice President of MRC.
Controversy Over Post Of Interim National President
It should be noted that there is a controversy with that post of Interim National President, because the Constitution of MRC that the Ministry of Territorial Administration commonly known by the French acronym, MINAT, recognizes, is the 2023 modified Constitution. That is, the MRC Constitution that was modified at the National Convention of the party that held in Yaounde in December 2023. From the time MRC was legalized and started functioning in 2012, up to September 2025, there was no mention of anything in the MRC Constitution like Interim National President. The Constitution stated that if the National President of MRC resigns, the Directorate of the party should convene an Extraordinary Convention of the party to elect a new party leader. All that was said in the MRC Constitution about the Vice National President was that the person assists the National President (Article 68 in the Constitution).
When the National President of MRC resigned in June 2025 to move over to the MANIDEM Party of Anicet Georges Ekane, in a bid to get the party’s investiture to be candidate at the October 12, 2025 presidential election, the 1st Vice National President of MRC, Mamadou Yacouba (Mota) was designated Interim National President. But MINAT never recognized him as such. The MRC made a modification of Article 68 at a meeting on October 2, 2025, making provision for the designation of an Interim National President of the party, when the need arises. The modification of Article 68 was adopted by the MRC Extraordinary Convention that held by videoconference on December 21, 2025, which MINAT termed illegal. So it is certain that MINAT will not recognize Madam Noah Tiriane Belbine Nadege as Interim President of MRC. She certainly knows that, and perhaps that is why she is reluctant to sign as Interim National President, preferring rather to sign as 2nd Vice National President.
Lapses In The Programme
Meanwhile, in an analysis on the decision that was taken on September 8, 2026 by the Directorate of the MRC Party, to urgently convene an Extraordinary Convention of the party to elect a New National President of the party and his team, a founding member of MRC, Dr Okala Ebode Joseph Thierry, who was sacked both from the Directorate of the party, as well as from the party itself last November, exposed some lapses. This was done in an article dated September 11, 2026, which he posted on the social media.
One of the major issues he raised, and that posed a big threat or risk to the Extraordinary Convention of MRC fixed for October 17, 2026, had to do with the latest date for aspirants or candidates for the post of National President, to deposit their lists. As stated above, the communiqué that was signed by the 1st Assistant Secretary General of the MRC, Noah Roger Justin, on September 8, 2026, stated that the Directorate of the party had fixed 10 am on October 9, 2026, as the deadline for candidates to deposit their files at the party headquarters in Yaounde.
Article 32
But in his analysis, Okala Ebode explained that there was a violation of Article 32 of the Constitution of MRC, which states that the latest date or deadline for candidates in the election for the post of National President to deposit their files at the party’s headquarters, has to be at least 30 days before the Extraordinary Convention. Thus to have fixed the latest date for reception of files of candidacies on October 9, with the Extraordinary Convention billed for October 17, was a clear violation of Article 32, which could lead to the annulment of the election, if a petition is filed especially by one of the candidates.
Programme Modified
By pointing out the violation of Article 32 of the MRC Constitution by the Directorate of the party, in the programme for the election to the post of National President of the party, Dr Okala Ebode, did much good to the party, even if that was not his real intention. The MRC Directorate quietly modified the programme, without making any mention of the social media post that Okala Ebode made. The First Assistant Secretary General of MRC, Noah Roger Justin, in another communiqué invited aspirants for the post of National President in the party, to come forward and deposit the files of their candidacies, and then tactically indicated that the deadline for the reception of files at the party headquarters in Yaounde, was September 16, 2026 at 6 pm. That was two days ago.
It should be noted that the Assistant Secretary General played the same game like what the 2nd Vice President of MRC, did with her communiqué that announced a new date (October 17) for the Extraordinary Convention of the party. The communiqué of the Assistant Secretary which tacitly indicated a new deadline (September 16) for candidates to deposit their files, was curiously enough, dated September 8, 2026, which was the date of the first communiqué. Nothing was said about the first communiqué, and the deadline of October 9 that was in the first communiqué. Hum, MRC!
