By our reporter 11.10.2025
Cameroonians have the chance to elect a new President when they head to the polls on Sunday and one candidate hoping to unseat President Paul Biya and end his 43 years reign is Tomaino Ndam Njoya.
Biya remains rock steady at 92 years, and he poised to win with the backing of government institutions his eighth tenure in office, but Njoya a member of parliament is hopeful of achieving what many failed to do over the past four decades: Unseat President Paul.
If she pulled this off Njoya will be the first woman President of Cameroon. It is the third time the Cameroon electoral commission will announce a woman as a candidate. It has released a list of 12 candidates for Sunday’s election.
Tomaino Ndam Njoya is not new to active politics. She is the mayor of Foumban and chairwoman of the Democratic Union for Cameroon (UDC). The 56-year-old politician’s election campaign slogan is: “Freedom. Justice. Progress.”
In 2021, she took over the chairmanship of the UDC from her late husband, Adamou Ndam Njoya, a prominent opposition figure, who was Cameroon’s Minister of Education in the late 1970s and also served as mayor of Foumban for many years.
“It is clearly a matter of the sovereign people leading the Republic of Cameroon, which has been weakened and threatened by long-term chaotic governance, into a new era that we all deserve,” Ndam Njoya told DW.
Some 8.2 million people aged 20 and above are eligible to vote, although voter apathy is on the rise. Many people question the point of voting in a system they believe is rigged in favour of the governing party.
While opposition candidates are mounting challenges to Biya, who has held power since 1982, analysts say the president is likely to extend his rule for another seven years and possibly rule until he is 100 years old.
Cameroon’s demographic is young, with about 60 percent of the 30 million population under the age of 25. More than half of the country has never known a president other than Biya.
Njoya and her supporters canvassing for votes.