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Sub Saharan Africa

Cameroon

 Flag of Cameroon

Map of Cameroon Last reviewed: 7 January 2008

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POLITICS

The constitution which brought in multi-partyism was adopted in 1992, and substantially amended in 1996. It provides for a limit on Presidential tenure to 2 terms of 7 years, while the 180-member National Assembly is elected every 5 years. It also provides for an upper chamber, the Senate, which has yet to be set up. Cameroon has elected local councils, but constitutional provisions for Provinces to become Regions with their own elected regional councils have not been implemented.

In the early days of multiparty democracy the regime was seriously shaken by widespread protest and an emboldened opposition lead by the SDF. The first presidential election under a multi-party system in October 1992 were fiercely contested and controversial. President Biya was elected by a narrow margin (39-36%) over the leading opposition candidate, John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front (SDF). However, since then, the CPDM and President Biya have managed to reassert their dominance over the Cameroonian political scene. The legislative elections of May 1997 were won by the CPDM and presidential elections of October 1997 were won by Biya with 81% of the vote according to the official results. Again the electoral process was denounced by the opposition.

Legislative elections of 2002 and Presidential elections of 2004 followed a similar pattern - the CPDM consolidated its grip on the national assembly and Biya won the Presidential elections of 2004 with 75% of the vote according to the official result. Legislative and local elections were held on 22 July 2007. The CPDM further consolidated its grip on power, eventually gaining 153 out of 180 parliamentary seats once elections were re-run in five districts in September. The SDF won 16 seats. The electoral roll was computerised which has aided transparency but there remain widespread concerns about the low turnout. Voter apathy has been exacerbated the difficulty of registering and widespread irregularities in the electoral system.

Under pressure from the international community to separate electoral organisation from the highly partisan administration, the government, on 29 December 2006 established a body to supervise elections (ELECAM). This body has not yet become operational and the elections of July 2007 were run by the Ministry of Territorial Administration.

In the last 2 years President Biya has acted to discourage corruption in his government. A law has been adopted on declaration of assets by officials and ministers. In December 2007, former minister and former General Manager of the Port of Douala, Alphonse Siyam Siwe, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for corruption. Others in the same case, including the former port Chairman and Government Delegate in Douala Colonel Eduard Etonde Ekoto, were also given substantial prison sentences. A new anti-corruption commission, CONAC, has been established and its members sworn in.

BBC News Country Profile: Cameroon
BBC News: Africa

HUMAN RIGHTS

Cameroon's human rights record has been poor but has improved recently. NGOs and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture have highlighted extra-judicial executions, protracted detention without trial, torture of detainees and appalling prison conditions in recent years. In some rare cases the victims are political activists, but in many cases they are victims of racketeering by the security forces. It is probably fair to say that the number of cases highlighted has declined in the last 5 years.

Although there is a free press, journalists are often harassed. The international community (through the European Union, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and bilaterally) has been pressing the Government of Cameroon to implement reforms of the judicial system and put an end to the culture of impunity in the security forces. The government set up a Human Rights Commission in 1992. A presidential decree, passed by the National Assembly in June 2005, confirms its official status and should ensure regular funding. The government has recently made other moves to improve the human rights situation, for example starting building new prisons to relieve overcrowding and implementing a new Criminal Procedure Code in 2007 which ensrines key legal principles such as habeas corpus and the presumption of innocence. Over time, one of the effects should be to bear down on the prison population since less people will be held on remand for such long periods.

Human Rights Annual Report 2006

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Contacts

Cameroon

Address:

High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon
84 Holland Park
London
W11 3SB

Telephone:

(020) 7727 0771

Fax:

(020) 7792 9353

Email: hicom@cameroonhicom.co.uk

Office hours:

Mon–Fri: 0900–1600

Website: www.cameroonhicom.co.uk