Competitive Contest Ahead

Cameroon’s third Senatorial election will be held on March 12, 2023 at the chief town of every Division. Regional and Municipal Councillors (844 and 10,271 respectively) will go to the polls to vote 70 of the 100 Senators. A total of ten political parties will be participating in the election. The political configuration of the current legislature of the Senate has seven political parties, amongst which only the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) and the Social Democratic Front (SDF) secured seats through the ballot box. The others (NUDP, ANDP, FSNC, UPC and MDR) gained seats through a presidential appointment. With the Senatorial election being organised every five years, and the last being in 2018, so many things have certainly changed. Regional Councils have been put in place, new Mayors elected and political parties have gained or lost political space. One can therefore not say with certainty that this or that political party will gain seats in this or that region where more than two parties are competing. The political landscape has changed and the number of political parties participating in the election for the time says it all. 
The National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP) and the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN) are making positive progress in political presence in some regions. With the two parties having seats at the National Assembly, they also gun for a similar representation in the Senate. As electoral campaigns begin on February 25, 2023, candidates will begin meeting the electorate, canvassing for their votes. At the moment, the CPDM is the party with the highest number of councillors, thereby the highest favoured. Interestingly enough, that is not the only criteria for a political party to win the elect...