Cameroon: Biya convenes pioneer regional elections on december 6

President Paul Biya has on September 7, signed a decree to convene the electoral colleges for the regional council elections. According to the decree, the pioneer regional elections will take place on Sunday, December 6, 2020, in the chief town of each division from 8 am to 6 pm. President Biya announced the holding of the pioneer regional election in Cameroon during his 2019 end of year speech.

According to the constitution each region is managed by a regional council led by a President. The President of the Council is the representative of the Head of State in that region.

At the end of the elections, 900 regional councillors will be elected nationwide made up of 700 divisional councillors and 200 traditional rulers.

The election of regional councillors in Cameroon is part of the ongoing decentralisation process. Cameroon’s Constitutional Law of 18 January 1996 enshrined decentralization as a fundamental principle of the organization of state governance. This implies therefore that a number of powers will be transferred to local authorities with a view to local management

However, a release signed by Ni John Fru Ndi, Chairman of the Social Democratic Front; SDF, says the party will only take part in the Regional Elections after the holding of an inclusive revision and enhancement of the electoral code. Another political party, Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC of Prof Maurice Kamto also says it will not take part in the elections except a ceasefire is declared in the two troubled Anglophone regions of the country and the electoral code undergoes a reform.

While uncertainty surrounds the upcoming elections, observers believe the Regional Council Election in Cameroon is a step in the right direction amongst other efforts being made to resolve the crisis in the two English speaking regions.