Maurice Kamto, a high-profile critic of Cameroon's long-running President Paul Biya has been excluded by electoral authorities from the list of approved candidates able to run in the 12 October presidential vote.
Maurice Kamto, 71, had officially submitted his candidacy last week, one of 83 names put forward to the electoral council.
He sought to run as the candidate for the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM).
But his name was not among the 13 candidates on the provisional list issued Saturday by the national electoral council.
Kamto came second to President Paul Biya in the 2018 presidential election, representing the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC).
Elecam rejected his candidacy for the 12 October election, saying that another individual was already running under the banner of the Manidem party.
Controversy
The decision has generated some controversy in Cameroon.
Since Sunday, the hypothesis of a plot to oust the main rival of incumbent President Paul Biya, has emerged.
This particularly implicates Dieudonné Yebga, the man presented by Elecam as the other candidate nominated by Manidem, whose nomination allegedly prompted the body to disqualify Kamto.
According to RFI's correspondent in Yaoundé, audio recordings lend credence to the theory of a plot to remove the Manidem candidate from the presidential race. Although yet to be verified, the messages have gone viral online.
Tensions
Some observers also fear backlash in the current context of the electoral campaign, like members of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security.
"In case of the rejection of certain candidates in this election, it is possible there will be protests in the centre of Yaoundé and near the seat of Elecam," the Department had warned on Friday in a statement.
President Biya, 92-year-old, has been in power since 1982 and is seeking an eighth term in office.
Among the candidates approved to run in the election are former prime minister Bello Bouba Maigari, an ally of Biya's for nearly 30 years, and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who resigned as employment minister in early June to submit his candidacy.
The definitive list of candidates is supposed to be announced in the coming days after any challenges to the provisional list are considered.
(with newswires)
