IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Cameroon

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Legislative (Postponed)
July 2013
Legislative
2017

Cameroon
Republic of Cameroon
Region: Africa

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Paul BIYA
Head of Government: Prime Minister Philemon YANG
Assembly: Cameroon has a bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 70 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 180 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 7-year term.
Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
In the Senate (Sénat) 70 members are indirectly elected by regional governing councils*. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 90 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 90 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* A 1996 constitutional amendment called for the establishment of a 100-seat upper house, the Senate (Sénat). The April 14, 2013 election established this Senate for the first time. Senators are elected through an electoral college consisting of municipal councilors. Each region will be represented in the Senate by 10 senators, 7 of whom will be indirectly elected, and 3 will appointed by the President. Therefore 70 members will be chosen by electors from 360 local councils and the President will appoint the 30 remaining senators.

** The president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature. In the PR tier, electors cast a ballot for a party list. If a list achieves an absolute majority, they win all the seats in that district. If no list obtains an absolute majority, the one with the highest number of votes is allocated half of the seats; the remainder is allocated to the other best-placed lists through proportional representation. There is a 5 percent threshold.