Cameroon’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment on Saturday to reinstate the position of vice president. The government asserts this move will guarantee continuity in leadership, while opposition parties warn it could further concentrate executive power.
In a joint session dominated by the ruling party, members of the National Assembly and Senate voted 200 to 18 in favor of the bill, with four abstentions. The legislation specifies that the vice president will automatically succeed the presidency if President Paul Biya dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated.
President Biya, aged 93, has been in power since 1982, making him the world’s longest-serving head of state. Public discourse regarding his health remains prohibited. Under the new law, the vice president will be appointed and dismissed by the president and will serve out the remainder of the president’s seven-year term. However, the interim leader will be barred from initiating constitutional reforms or running in the subsequent presidential election.
The government defends the reform as a measure to maintain institutional stability in the event of an unexpected leadership vacancy. President Biya has 15 days to promulgate the bill.
Opposition figures, including Joshua Osih, chairman of the Social Democratic Front and a member of parliament, criticize the amendment for undermining democratic institutions and increasing centralization. Osih described the change as a missed chance to promote national unity and democratic governance in a country affected by civil conflict since 2017. He advocated for a system where the president and vice president are elected together, reflecting Cameroon’s history as a union of British and French-administered territories.
This constitutional revision is the first significant change since 2008, when presidential term limits were removed, triggering nationwide protests that were met with a harsh security crackdown. The vice presidency had previously existed in Cameroon’s political system but was eliminated in 1972 following a constitutional referendum.
