Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
Law No. 90 /056 Of 19 December 1990 On The Organization And Functioning Of Political Parties, Has Not Yet Been Modified, For Political Parties To Have The Alternative To Hold Their Congresses By Videoconferences. Even For MRC, Article 68 Of The Party’s Constitution Had To Be Modified, Before The Party Could Hold The Extraordinary Convention By Videoconference On December 21, 2025.
The second major Issue that Maurice Kamto and the MRC Directorate poorly handled, and by that gave ammunitions to the CPDM regime to use against them, was over the legality of the Extraordinary Convention of MRC that was unprecedentedly held by videoconference, on December 21, 2025. There are analysts who see nothing wrong with what MRC did. They argue that it is a good adaption to modern technology or digitalization, for a political party in Cameroon to be able to hold its Congress or Convention by videoconference. And that it is something to be encouraged.
But other analysts argue that the issue as concerns the Convention that MRC held by videoconference last December 21, was not about modernity, but the Law. They insist that the holding of a party’s congress or convention by videoconference in Cameroon is illegal, as Law No. 90 / 056 of 19 December 1990 on the organization and functioning of political parties, has not yet been modified, to give political parties the opportunity to benefit from the new technology, by having the alternative or choice to be able to hold their Conventions or Congresses, by videoconference. The Law indicates the formats in which political parties hold their conventions or congresses. It should be noted that in Cameroon, legalized political parties are legalized associations, whose activities or their modus operandi, are guided by Law.
It should be noted that even for MRC to hold the Extraordinary Convention by videoconference on December 21, 2025, the Directorate of the party met on December 2, 2025, and adopted a resolution (No. 5) to modify Article 68 of the MRC Constitution, on the format in which the party holds its Convention.
The Context In Which The MRC Convention Was Held By Videoconference, Further Complicated Things For MRC
Meanwhile, what made the Extraordinary Convention of MRC that held by videoconference on December 21, 2025, more complicated for the party, was the context in which the Convention held. This is considering the fact that MRC’s Directorate, only took the decision to hold the Extraordinary Convention of the party by videoconference, after the DO of Yaounde IV, Akondi Elvis Mbahangwen, signed an order that prohibited the holding of the Convention at the party’s headquarters at Odza, Yaounde, on November 29, 2025, on the pretext that the event posed a threat to public order. The DO’s decision followed a petition that was filed against the planned Extraordinary Elective Convention, by a founding member of MRC, Dr Okala Ebode Joseph Thierry, who was fired from MRC, for having strongly protested against the decision for Maurice Kamto to run for re-election to the post of National President of the party. He argued that Maurice Kamto was not eligible for that post.
Okala Ebode who had strongly protested against the decision to sack him from MRC, filed a petition to the DO of Yaounde 1V, against the holding of the MRC Convention that was scheduled for November 29, 2025. The petition was either the real reason, or the pretext, that the administration used, to ban the holding of the MRC Convention. Also, it is difficult for any political observer, to think or to imagine that the DO of Yaounde IV, unilaterally took the decision to ban the holding of the Convention of a major opposition party in the country like the MRC, without consulting hierarchy.
Show Of Force Or Naivety?
Meanwhile, as The Mentor pointed out in the article that was published a few months ago, if the Extraordinary Convention of the MRC, that reportedly held by videoconference on December 21, 2025, was just an ordinary party meeting, it wouldn’t have been a big problem to the party, as to whether MINAT, recognizes the meeting or not. But the problem was that the party’s Convention that reportedly held by videoconference on December 21, 2025, was an Extraordinary Elective Convention. And so MRC had to update its file at MINAT, by sending the resolutions of the Convention, or better still, the result of the election that held during the videoconferencing last December 21, to MINAT.
And this is why there was the fear that the Ministry of Territorial Administration commonly known by the French acronym, MNAT, was very likely not to recognize the MRC Convention that held by videoconference. Firstly, this was because MINAT considered the holding the Convention by videoconference to be illegal, and secondly because the holding of the Convention by videoconference came after the DO of Yaounde IV banned it. Some sources close to MINAT, disclosed that the ministry also considered the decision by the MRC Directorate, that the party’s Convention should hold by videoconference, after the DO of Yaounde IV prohibited it, as an affront, challenge, or show of force against the administration and government. In such a case, there was thus the fear that MINAT, and most probably the CPDM regime, would not recognize the result of the election that, held during the videoconferencing by delegates to the Extraordinary Convention of MRC, on December 21, 2025.
This meant that MINAT was very likely not to recognize the return of Prof Maurice Kamto to the post of National President of MRC. And that came to pass, as the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, recently declared that he, or better still, his ministry, did not recognize the MRC Convention that held by videoconference on December 21, 2025. It was even naïve for MRC leadership to think that the party could ignore the decision by the DO of Yaounde 4 prohibiting the Extraordinary Convention from holding, go ahead and hold the Convention by videoconference, and MINAT would recognize the resolutions of the Convention.
