Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

elects, on a national level, a

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

– the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

– and a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. The president is elected for a seven-year term by the people; a two-term limit on the office was removed through a parliamentary vote in April 2008. The

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

(''Assemblée Nationale'') has 180 members, elected for a five-year term in 49 single and multi-seat

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. Cameroon also has a Senate, with 100 elected officials, each serving 5 years. 70 of these are elected by a regional council, while 30 are elected directly from the president. Cameroon is a

one party dominant state A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system, is a political occurrence in which a single political party continuously dominates election results over running opposition groups or parties. Any ruling party staying in power for more th ...

with the

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM; french: Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais, RDPC) is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politic ...

in power.

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Independent candidates are barred from running in parliamentary and municipal elections. They are permitted to run in presidential elections, but there has never been an independent presidential candidate due to the very exacting legal requirements for an independent candidacy.

Federal Elections

Since 1990, multiple parties have been able to run in federal elections, with 1992 being the first year of

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. 1996 was then the first year of multiple parties running for the presidential office. Later down the line, The National Assembly worked to limit the amount of issues by passing a National Elections Observatory in 2000. The NEO works to supervise local and legislative elections across the country. Cameroon's Election Commission

Eligibility to Vote

In order to be able to vote in Cameroon, voters must be at least 20 years of age on the day of the election. As of 2009, people are able to be register to vote between the dates of January 1st and April 30th and must

register to vote In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

at that time to vote. During this period, people head to registration offices located throughout the country.

Eligibility to Run

Parliamentary Elections

There are numerous criteria to be able to run for Parliament such as being able read and write in French or English, be nominated or presented by a political party, be 23 years of age, being a Cameroonian born citizen, paying the Treasury to indicate a parliament run and not have been declared ineligible to run.

Presidential Elections

According to Article 8 of the Chapter 1 of the Cameroonian Constitution, those attempting a presidential bid must be at least 35 years of age and born in Cameroon. The person must than be able to show that they live in Cameroon as further prove as citizenship.

References

External links

Adam Carr's Election Archive
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