Cameroon’s electoral commission, ELECAM, on Saturday announced that opposition politician Maurice Kamto was barred from contesting the 12 October presidential polls.

The renowned university professor and former government minister was widely seen as the most serious challenger to  long-standing President Paul Biya.

ELECAM said Kamto had failed to comply with legal requirements by accepting a nomination from the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, which boycotted legislative and municipal elections in 2020.

It says that under Section 121 of the electoral code, this means the movement is no longer eligible to put forward a candidate.

Kamto had come in second place with 14 per cent of the vote in the last elections in 2018, which Biya won by a landslide amid allegations of fraud.

The 71-year-old’s exclusion raises the risk of protests and leaves just 12 out of the more than 80 applicants hoping to replace the 92-year-old Biya in the field.

In power for almost 43 years, Biya announced earlier this month that he would seek an eighth seven-year term in office.