Cameroon - March 2024

In a press release dated 12 March, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, declared two coalitions of opposition political parties to be illegal. Minister Nji said the Political Alliance for Change (APC) and the Alliance for a Political Transition in Cameroon (ATP), two new and important opposition groupings, did not meet the legal definition of a political party and were therefore prohibited from carrying out political activities, including holding public meetings and demonstrations. The declaration was contested by activists, who asserted that Cameroonian law did not prevent political parties from forming coalitions. According to Human Rights Watch, an NGO, the ban represented an attempt by state authorities ‘to close down space for the opposition and for public debate ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.’            

Sources: Ministry of Territorial Administration,  Jeune Afrique (1), Jeune Afrique (2),  Human Rights Watch