The Roots Of Cameroon’s Election Culture And How Colonial History Still Influences Today’s Political Choices

After Germany’s defeat in the First World War, its colony known as Kamerun was taken away and placed under the authority of the League of Nations. The territory was divided between France and Great Britain, with France receiving the larger part known as French Cameroun, which made up about 80 percent of the former German colony. According to the ideals expressed by American President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points, France was supposed to prepare the territory for self-rule and eventual independence by introducing elections and representative government. However, in reality, France treated Cameroun as if it were one of its own colonies in French Equatorial Africa.

The French introduced their own colonial policies of assimilation, forced labor, and strict administrative control. During the period between the two world wars, there were no elections in French Cameroun. Administration was carried out by French officials, appointed chiefs, and advisory councils that served only to execute French decisions. Any attempt by Cameroonians to organize politically was discouraged or repressed. Associations such as the Jeunesse Camerounaise Française, which appeared to support French rule, were the only ones permitted to exist.

When the Second World War broke out, France was invaded and occupied by Germany. Although France later regained its international position among the victorious Allied powers and even secured a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, its colonial strength had been greatly weakened by the war and by the conflicts it faced in other colonies, such as Indochina.

In 1944, General Charles de Gaulle convened the Brazzaville Conference, bringing together representatives from France’s African territories. At this conference, the French promised to introduce certain reforms, including the establishment of local assemblies that would give Africans limited representation. After the war, many African soldiers who had fought for France returned home with new political awareness and began demanding greater rights. Educated Cameroonians such as teachers, clerks, and businessmen joined in these demands.

By 1945, residents of French Cameroun were finally allowed to vote for representatives to the French National Assembly in Paris, even though Cameroun was officially a United Nations Trust Territory and not a French colony. The elections were organized under a two-college system. The first college was reserved for French citizens, including Europeans and a small number of assimilated Africans, while the second college was for the vast majority of Cameroonians. Voting rights in this second group were highly restricted to people who could read and write, pay taxes, or own property. The election produced two deputies: Louis-Paul Aujoulat, a Frenchman, and Alexandre Douala Manga Bell, a descendant of the famous Duala royal family.

Despite this development, many educated Cameroonians were not satisfied. In 1948, the Union des Populations du Cameroun, better known as the UPC, was founded by leaders such as Léonard Bouli, Charles Assalé, and Ruben Um Nyobè. The UPC demanded immediate independence and reunification with British Southern Cameroons. Because the party’s message was militant and it had connections with trade unions during the Cold War period, France regarded it as dangerous and responded with strong repression. Other political movements, including the Bloc Démocratique Camerounais led by Louis-Paul Aujoulat and the Parti des Démocrates Camerounais led by André-Marie Mbida, were more moderate and friendly toward French interests.

In 1946, France created a new body called the Assemblée Régionale du Cameroun, or ARCAM, to give the appearance of local participation in governance. However, the right to vote was still extremely limited. In 1952, this body was replaced by the Assemblée Territoriale du Cameroun, or ATCAM, but the same two-college system remained in use. The UPC’s popularity in urban areas was kept under control through manipulation of elections and increased repression. In July 1955, the French authorities finally banned the UPC, provoking uprisings across the country that were met with brutal violence.

A significant change came in 1956 when the French parliament adopted the Loi-Cadre. This law abolished the two-college system and introduced universal adult suffrage across all French territories in Africa, including Cameroun. The Territorial Assembly became the Assemblée Législative du Cameroun, or ALCAM, and gained greater power to manage local affairs. This was a major step toward self-government.

The 1957 elections, held under the new system, were the first in which all adults could vote. André-Marie Mbida became the first Prime Minister of autonomous Cameroun, even though Ahmadou Ahidjo’s party, the Union Camerounaise, had won more seats. Ahidjo served as Deputy Prime Minister. By 1958, with French backing, Ahidjo replaced Mbida as Prime Minister after a series of political maneuvers. France supported Ahidjo because he favored continued cooperation with France and membership in the French Union, while Mbida demanded full independence and refused to accept what he saw as a fake independence.

The late 1950s were marked by a violent rebellion led by the banned UPC. Leaders such as Ruben Um Nyobè, Félix-Roland Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié went into hiding and organized armed resistance against French rule. The conflict, which lasted until 1971, was brutally suppressed by French troops and later by Ahidjo’s government. Regions like the Bamileke highlands and the Bassa’a forests witnessed severe violence and mass killings. Elections during this period were held under military conditions, and the UPC was systematically excluded.

In the 1959 legislative elections, Ahidjo presented himself as a man capable of bringing peace and order to a nation torn apart by conflict. With the full support of France, he won a comfortable majority and consolidated his control over the country. On January 1, 1960, French Cameroun gained independence as the Republic of Cameroun, with Ahmadou Ahidjo as its first president.

Despite this official independence, democracy in Cameroun remained an illusion. Every election organized during this period and afterward was carefully managed to produce the results desired by those in power. France continued to influence the country’s political direction, ensuring that moderate, pro-French leaders stayed in control while nationalist and radical movements were suppressed. The pattern of manipulation, limited political competition, and control over voting rights established during the colonial era has continued to shape Cameroun’s politics long after independence.