Cameroon Election Board Bars Kamto, Key Contender to Paul Biya

Maurice Kamto, the main challenger to President Paul Biya in Cameroon’s 2018 election, won’t be permitted to contest the next ballot on Oct. 12 after his candidacy was rejected by the country’s election board.

Kamto, 71, failed to comply with legal requirements by accepting a nomination from the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, which boycotted legislative and municipal elections in 2020 and — under Section 121 of the electoral code — is no longer eligible to put forward a candidate, Elections Cameroon, or ELECAM, said on Saturday.