Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the fiery former government spokesman turned opposition challenger, has called the people to the streets at 3 p.m. to “defend their victory.” Behind this standoff lies a deeper game — not just about ballots and power, but about France’s quiet experiment in control.
By Ali Dan Ismael, Editor-in-Chief, The Independentist on special assignment.
YAOUNDE – Sunday, 26 October 2025. As the sun rose over Yaoundé this Sunday morning, Cameroon stood on edge.
The results of the October 12th presidential election remain locked in silence.
Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the fiery former government spokesman turned opposition challenger, has called the people to the streets at 3 p.m. to “defend their victory.”
Behind this standoff lies a deeper game — not just about ballots and power, but about France’s quiet experiment in control.
France’s Hidden Test
According to diplomatic insiders, France has been closely watching Tchiroma’s surge while staying officially mute.
This silence is not neutrality — it’s calculation.
Paris has realised something uncomfortable: despite years of denial, the Government of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) under Dr Samuel Ikome Sako commands deep popular support among its people.
The proof has been visible for years in the unbroken Ghost Town obedience — a civil resistance so consistent that even French intelligence acknowledges it privately.
Unable to suppress that reality, France is now using the same tactic to measure Issa Tchiroma’s influence: observing who takes to the streets today, October 26th, to decide whether to cancel the elections, declare Biya winner, or repackage power under a new French-approved figurehead.
But Ambazonia’s leadership says this French double standard is well known — and will not work twice.
As an official in the Sako administration told The Independentist, “We have the statistics to go by. We know where the people’s loyalty lies, and no foreign test can change that.”
A Nation on Pause
The Constitutional Council, long accused of obeying Yaoundé’s script, rejected all petitions filed on time — only for a mysterious, French-backed complaint to appear later, calling for cancellation of the election.
It was set for hearing Friday; today is Sunday, and still no verdict.
This delay looks less like confusion and more like choreography — a way to test the mood in the streets before deciding the outcome.
If turnout for Tchiroma’s call is weak, the regime can safely proclaim Biya’s victory.
If crowds swell, France and Yaoundé may opt for a political reset — perhaps a conditional transition under Tchiroma, or even an annulled vote that sidelines him later under “technicalities.”
It is a cynical rehearsal of the same colonial pattern that has long defined French Cameroon’s politics: delay, divide, decide.
France’s Fear of Losing Africa
The timing is no coincidence.
Ivory Coast also held elections this weekend, with results expected in under 48 hours — while Cameroon’s results drag on indefinitely.
France cannot afford to lose both Yaoundé and Abidjan in one breath.
By stretching the suspense, Paris is buying time to see which side guarantees its influence.
But this calculation may backfire: each act of manipulation exposes France’s fading grip and the emptiness of its “democratic” image in Africa.
Tchiroma’s Moment — or Trap
For Issa Tchiroma, today’s demonstration is his biggest gamble.
A massive, peaceful turnout could give him the momentum of a people’s victory.
A weak one could finish him politically and justify new repression.
Either way, the regime and its French partners will study every photo, crowd size, and headline to gauge their next move.
The danger is clear: if violence erupts, they will seize the excuse to impose order — again.
If calm holds, they may spin it as proof of “stability” and quietly restore Biya.
Ambazonia’s Lesson to the World
For Ambazonians watching from across the divide, the pattern is familiar.
What France refuses to admit in the West — that the Sako government enjoys genuine grassroots loyalty — it now tries to measure through another man’s protest in the East.
But the Government of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons, grounded in data and discipline, is not swayed by French experiments.
Ambazonia’s sovereignty was born in silence, proven by sacrifice, and sustained by a people who obey no foreign master.
So as Cameroon waits for its verdict, Ambazonia already knows hers:
Freedom is not granted by France’s tests — it is measured by a people’s endurance.
Ali Dan Ismael, Editor-in-Chief, The Independentist on special assignment.
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