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Do you approve, with the aim of consolidating national unity and accelerating the economic, social and cultural development of the nation, the draft constitution submitted to the Cameroonian people by the President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon and establishing a Republic, united and indivisible, under the name of a united Republic of Cameroon? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cameroonportal |
A constitutional referendum was held in Cameroon on 20 May 1972. The new constitution would make the country a unitary state, as opposed to the previous federal system, as well as giving more powers to President Ahmadou Ahidjo. [1] It was passed by 99.99% of voters with a 98.2% turnout.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
For | 3,177,846 | 99.99 |
Against | 176 | 0.01 |
Invalid/blank votes | 1,612 | – |
Total | 3,179,634 | 100 |
Registered voters/turnout | 3,236,280 | 98.2 |
Source: African Elections Database |
At the crossroads of West Africa and Central Africa, the territory of what is now Cameroon has seen human habitation since some time in the Middle Paleolithic, likely no later than 130,000 years ago. The earliest discovered archaeological evidence of humans dates from around 30,000 years ago at Shum Laka. The Bamenda highlands in western Cameroon near the border with Nigeria are the most likely origin for the Bantu peoples, whose language and culture came to dominate most of central and southern Africa between 1000 BCE and 1000 CE.
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A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create administrative divisions. Such units exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute, the central government may abrogate the acts of devolved governments or curtail their powers.
British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Nigeria, while the Southern Cameroons forms part of the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.
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Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was a Cameroonian politician who was the first President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's independence from France as well as reuniting the French and English-speaking parts of the country. During Ahidjo's time in office, he established a centralized political system. Ahidjo established a single-party state under the Cameroon National Union (CNU) in 1966. In 1972, Ahidjo abolished the federation in favor of a unitary state.
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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 guaranteed to Cameroonian citizens, the symbols and official institutions of the country, the structure and functions of government, the procedure by which the Constitution may be amended, and the process by which the provisions of the Constitution are to be implemented.
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