West Africa: How Cameroon’s Contested Elections Affected Border Communities in Nigeria, CAR, Chad

Post-election ‘ghost town’ protests disrupted trade, revealing neighbouring countries’ economic reliance on stability in Cameroon.

When Cameroon’s Constitutional Council announced on 27 October 2025 that 92-year-old President Paul Biya had won an eighth term, simmering tensions in the country boiled over – their effects spilling beyond the country’s borders.

Public frustration was growing ahead of the 12 October polls. Civil society groups and the youth openly doubted whether the political system…