The President of the Republic in a correspondence Monday to House Speaker, Cavayé Yéguié Djibril said he has hinted the Senate President and Prime Minister on consultations over the extension of the term of MPs and Municipal councillors till February 29, 2020.
A bill to this effect is expected in Parliament in the days ahead and if adopted, the Head of state will promulgate it, triggering the mandate extension. The move however comes about two weeks after Paul Biya increased the election budget when he amended and supplemented certain provisions of the 2019 Finance Act.
Members of Parliament and Municipal councillors in Cameroon are heading for a second extension of their mandate following a request by made to the speaker of the National Assembly by the President of the Republic.
Following the notice from the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the National Assembly will convene the Bureau in the days ahead, paving the way for the reception of a bill at a plenary sitting.
The Chairmen’s conference will sit and decide on the admissibility of the bill which will likely face no opposition.
It will later be forwarded for scrutiny to the Committee on Constitutional Laws where it will be defended by the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies.
An explanatory statement of the bill arguing in favour of the extension of the terms of office will be revealed at this stage.
Members of the ninth legislative period of Cameroon’s National Assembly elected during the twin legislative and municipal council elections of September 30, 2013 will vote and adopt the bill which will be sent to the President for promulgation into law, reviewing the elections schedule. This implies that, the twin legislative and municipal elections might only hold in March.
Municipal and Legislative were supposed to hold alongside the Presidential election last year. But Parliament adopted a bill, extending the mandate of MPs and local councillors, which was later promulgated by Paul Biya from October 24, 2018 to October 2019. The SDF in a recent NEC meeting had called for the extension of the mandate of the MPs and local authorities on the basis that, credible elections cannot hold when at least seven out of ten regions are facing multi-faceted security challenges.
The move by the Head of state falls in line with Article 170 of the April 19, 2012 on the Electoral code, modified and completed by the December 21, 2012 law. But Paul Biya had increased the election budget from 50 million FCFA TO 80 million FCFA, following a revision of the 2019 State budget in May.
His move though leaving some observers dumbfounded however gives green light for the holding of the country’s maiden Regional elections.
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