On Tuesday, lawmakers from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) enacted a law extending their term by one year.
These lawmakers, elected in 2020 for a term set to end on March 10, 2025, will now serve until 2026, following a request from President Paul Biya.
The CPDM, holding 156 of the 180 parliamentary seats, supported the extension.
Government officials argue that the constitution allows Biya to consult the Constitutional Council and propose term extensions and election postponements as needed.
However, Joshua Osih, a lawmaker and leader of the opposition Social Democratic Front, opposes this extension.
The Social Democratic Front Party, which Osih leads, has stated that it strongly opposes as undemocratic the bill that extends the mandate of legislators and pushes out Cameroon’s parliamentary elections from February 2025 to February 2026. He stated that the Cameroonian administration shouldn’t appear surprised, as it had five years to get ready for new elections in 2025.
Civil society organizations and the opposition claim that Biya instructed CPDM parliamentarians to vote on the bill because it would make it more difficult for some of the leading opposition figures, such as Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party (CRM), to run for office in the anticipated October 2025 presidential election.
The opposition claims the win was stolen
Kamto asserts he won the October 7 presidential election in Cameroon but that Biya stole his victory. In 2020, his party boycotted local council and parliamentary elections, alleging that Biya intended to rig the polls in favor of the CPDM.
According to Cameroonian laws, any political leader aspiring to the presidency must be affiliated with a party that holds at least one municipal councilor or is represented by a lawmaker in parliament. Kamto’s CRM party does not meet these criteria. The CRM had planned to participate in the upcoming February local and parliamentary elections to meet these requirements and endorse Kamto.
Kamto criticized the recent law extending the terms of parliamentarians and a presidential decision to postpone local elections, accusing 91-year-old President Biya of using these measures to extend his leadership indefinitely.
Kamto emphasized that he and his party will not tolerate President Biya’s attempts to consolidate power, urging the Cameroonian government to respect democratic principles and refrain from authoritarian rule.
Kamto hinted at potential actions to protest if his rights are violated during the electoral process, although he did not specify the exact nature of these actions. Meanwhile, the government announced that simultaneous local council and parliamentary elections will occur in 2026, following the presidential elections scheduled for 2025.
Kamto pointed out that although Cameroonian laws technically allow presidential candidates without party endorsements to run by submitting 300 signatures from influential figures like former ministers, traditional leaders, and religious leaders, this requirement is extremely difficult in practice. He suggested that many of these leaders may either fear repercussions from Biya’s government or have political alliances with him.
Biya has not yet indicated whether he will seek reelection. However, in March last year, supporters of the CPDM marched in support of the world’s oldest leader running in the 2025 presidential election, potentially extending his more than four-decade tenure. They argue that Biya alone can bring stability and development to Cameroon, while the opposition insists that after decades in power, Biya must step down.
Opposition parties and civil society maintain that Biya rules with a firm hand and shows no readiness to give up power until his death. In contrast, Biya’s supporters contend that he upholds democratic values, having won all elections since Cameroon reintroduced multi-party politics in 1990. If Biya is reelected, he would continue his rule until 2032, when he would be 98 years old.
