Cameroon’s main opposition party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), has elected Tiriane Balbine Noah as its first female president, succeeding Maurice Kamto, who led the party for 14 years before resigning last month.
Noah was elected on Saturday at an extraordinary elective congress held at the party’s headquarters in Yaoundé, securing more than 96 per cent of the votes cast by delegates.
Her election followed the withdrawal of her only challenger, leaving her as the sole candidate for the leadership position. She will serve a renewable five-year term.
The congress attracted 1,200 party delegates and took place amid pressure on authorities to prohibit the meeting, as party supporters gathered to elect a new leader and protest restrictions they said had hindered the party’s activities.
Joseph Emmanuel Ateba, the MRC’s National Secretary in Charge of Party Reform, said the party was pleased that the congress had proceeded with official authorisation.
“Unfortunately, in Cameroon, things are done in such a way that everything becomes extraordinary,” Ateba told Africanews.
He said the MRC had faced persecution since its establishment and had struggled to exercise its political rights.
Kuesbi Mefo Thierry, an MRC delegate, described Noah’s emergence as a source of pride for the party, noting that she had served as its second vice-president before becoming interim president following Kamto’s resignation.
He said Kamto had prepared capable party members, including Noah, to take on leadership responsibilities.
In her acceptance speech, Noah paid tribute to party supporters who had endured personal sacrifices in their political activities.
“All the activists who have paid with their lives, their freedom, their safety and their commitment deserve recognition,” she said.
She added that the conduct of the congress would serve as a tribute to Kamto, whom she described as a democrat, humanist and man of peace.
Kamto and his deputy resigned last month amid concerns about the party’s future and suspicions that the government was seeking to dismantle the opposition movement.
Noah’s emergence marks a new phase for the MRC as it prepares for Cameroon’s 2027 local elections.
Her immediate challenge will be to consolidate the party’s structures, maintain unity among its supporters and strengthen its position in the country’s political landscape.
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