Regional councils are, nominally, the governing bodies of the

regions of Cameroon The Republic of Cameroon is divided into ten regions. In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "provinces" and replacing them with "regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces a ...

. As defined by the

Constitution of Cameroon The Constitution of Cameroon is the supreme law of the Republic of Cameroon. Adopted in 1972, it is Cameroon's third constitution. The document consists of a preamble and 13 Parts, each divided into Articles. The Constitution outlines the rights ...

, the councils have control of cultural, economic, educational, health-related, social, and sport-related issues in the regions. The members of each council are delegates indirectly elected by the populace and

traditional ruler A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s selected by their peers. Each council is headed by a president, who is elected by the members from among their own ranks. Members serve five-year terms. Each council is advised by members of parliament from the area and by an administrator appointed by the

president of Cameroon The president of Cameroon is the executive head of state and de facto head of government of Cameroon and is the commander in chief of the Cameroon Armed Forces. The authority of the State is exercised both by the President and by the Parliament. ...

. This individual acts at the president's personal representative and wields considerable power.DeLancey and DeLancey 229. The president of Cameroon reserves the right to disband any regional council he so chooses.Part X: Article 59. The regional councils were created by Cameroon's constitution of 1996 in response to agitation for a return to a federal system of government or increased

decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

. However, the councils have yet to be established in reality, and the regions established by the constitution are still known as ''

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

s'' and are headed by presidentially appointed governors.

Notes

References

* ''Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon''
English
an

versions). 18 January 1996. Accessed 4 January 2007. * DeLancey, Mark W., and Mark Dike DeLancey (2000): ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon'' (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. Government of Cameroon Regions of Cameroon {{Cameroon-gov-stub