Cameroon’s CRM Leadership Vote Disputed After Withdrawn Candidate Receives 29 Votes

email facebook twitter Pierre Emmanuel Binyam has challenged the results of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) leadership election held in Yaoundé on October 17, 2026, after officials attributed 29 votes to his list despite his withdrawal before the ballot. In a statement issued after the election, he denounced what he called “fictitious results.” Mamadou Mota, who supported Tiriane Balbine Noah’s candidacy, dismissed the criticism as “the rhetoric of defeat” and argued that the electoral commission could no longer change the ballot papers so close to the vote.

The CRM’s extraordinary convention elected Tiriane Balbine Noah as the party’s national president. According to the official results, she received 1,246 votes out of 1,286 cast, while 29 votes were attributed to Pierre Emmanuel Binyam and 11 ballots were declared invalid. Noah secured 96.89% of the votes cast. RFI also reported that Binyam’s name remained on the ballot papers despite his withdrawal before the convention. Binyam’s list had announced its withdrawal in a statement dated October 14 and released publicly the following day. The decision followed disagreements over the organization of the election, with his team arguing that the conditions for a fair contest were no longer in place.

Binyam Challenges the Decision to Keep His Name on the Ballot

The decision to retain his list on the ballot papers is now at the center of Binyam’s challenge. In his October 17 statement, he maintained that the electoral commission had been formally notified of his withdrawal before the election.

“The list led by Pierre Emmanuel Binyam formally notified the withdrawal of its candidacy from the election of the CRM’s national leadership (…). However, we have learned that the electoral commission kept our list on the ballot papers and announced results concerning us after the vote,” he wrote.

The former candidate denounced what he described as “the announcement of fictitious results” and compared the procedure to “unorthodox methods observed at Elecam,” Cameroon’s electoral management body.

He called it “regrettable to witness such practices within our own movement, particularly when the CRM’s fight for a transparent voter register and a fair electoral code based on consensus is widely recognized across the country.” Binyam’s objection therefore does not concern the number of ballots physically cast in his favor. Rather, he challenges the official allocation of votes to a list that had announced its withdrawal before the election.

Mota Argues That the Ballot Papers Could No Longer Be Changed

Mamadou Mota rejects Binyam’s interpretation of events. He describes the criticism as “the rhetoric of defeat” and maintains that the withdrawal came after the practical arrangements for the election had already been completed. “In electoral matters, the submission and validation of lists by the CRM electoral commission definitively settle the composition of the electoral process and the voting materials,” he said. According to Mota, Binyam’s ballot papers had already been “printed, distributed and validated.” He therefore argues that “the commission had neither the right nor the legal authority to change the ballot papers just hours before the vote. It followed the rules.”

However, an important distinction remains. The publicly available information confirms that Binyam’s ballot papers were retained after his withdrawal, but it does not establish which specific provision of the CRM’s internal rules would have prevented the electoral commission from removing them. For now, that interpretation remains Mota’s position rather than an independently established procedural requirement. Mota also criticized Binyam’s comparison with Elections Cameroon (Elecam), calling it “the ultimate insult.”

“You are using the opponent’s arguments to tarnish your own party because it refused to give in to your logistical blackmail demands. You do not reform a party by abandoning the fight,” he declared. Despite the latest internal dispute, Binyam has not questioned his continued membership in the CRM. In his statement, he reaffirmed his “willingness to work alongside all the active forces within the party to promote the values of ethics, electoral justice and solidarity among party members.”

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