Battling To Maintain Winning Spree

Supporters of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) are in a festive mood today 24 March, 2025 to mark yet another anniversary. It is exactly four decades down the line that the party has continued to march on in spite of daunting hurdles. With the events this year centred around Presidential election, which is a key moment in the life of the nation, the place of the party remains crucial. Decision-making may not only be to ensure victory for their candidate, but equally to assure that the values around which the political entity came into existence are well in place.     
It is often said that getting to the top and keeping the flame burning can at times be more challenging than climbing. That is certainly what the CPDM has to grapple with as the party celebrates this 40th anniversary.    
The country harbours over 360 political parties since the advent of multiparty politics in the 1990s in Cameroon. Several elections have taken place and serious threats in the early days of multiparty elections have given way to successive victories for the CPDM, but that has in no way left the party following to lie on their laurels. They keep battling each day to keep the top position and the theme for celebrating the 40th anniversary underlines that same aspiration. Namely: “Let us all stand ready, behind President Paul Biya, to take up the challenge of a clear, transparent and unambiguous victory for the CPDM candidate in the presidential election”. With a strong implantation throughout the country, the party hierarchy has been upbeat about their chances and counting on the grassroots support that they have to send across the message of the party.     
As the party in power or close to power, as some of the supporters want to qualify the CPDM, most woes in the country have often been placed at their doorstep and the situation during this festivity would be to dispel doubts and rumours while reassuring their critics that they have what it takes to be on top. Acts of violence perpetrated against senior members of government and the high cost of living that the people decry often are issues of concern which will certainly come up repeatedly during party rallies. For some decades now, some persons have used the party card as an alibi for corruption and mismanagement of public funds. Attitudes which have generally tarnished the image of the party and the national President of the party has never stopped reminding all supporters that there can be no hiding place for such persons.     
There is also the tussle of having generational transition within the party hierarchy with the growing number of youth and women who equally want their names written down and greater responsibilities conferred on them. Such worries have at times been perceived as impatience, on the one hand, or intolerance, on the other. But the leadership of the p...