Cameroonian parliamentary election, 2013

Last updated
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 2013
Flag of Cameroon.svg
  2007 30 September 2013 2019  

PartyLeader%Seats±
RDPC Paul Biya 148-5
FSD John Fru Ndi 18+2
UNDP Bello Bouba Maigari 5-1
UDC 40
UPC Pierre Sende 3+3
MRC Maurice Kamto 1New
MDR 1+1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after
Philémon Yang
RDPC
Philémon Yang
RDPC
Cameroon COA.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Cameroon

Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 30 September 2013, alongside local elections. [1] They were originally scheduled for July 2012, February 2013 and July 2013, but were repeatedly postponed. [2]

Cameroon Republic in West Africa

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Although Cameroon is not an ECOWAS member state, it geographically and historically is in West Africa with the Southern Cameroons which now form her Northwest and Southwest Regions having a strong West African history. The country is sometimes identified as West African and other times as Central African due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West and Central Africa.

Contents

Background

Following a controversial presidential election in 2011, Islamic and Christian leaders met with Samuel Fonkam Azu'u, the head of the electoral commission ELECAM, in order to push for reforms demanded by the opposition. The measures included: biometric registration of voters as the previous election had multiple and non-existing voters, [3] a single ballot paper for presidential elections, eligibility of independent candidates, eligibility of 18-year-olds to vote from the current 20 minimum requirement, recompilation of voter registers, two-round presidential election, establishing an electoral calendar, "harmonisation" of electoral laws and a "truly independent" electoral commission. Azu'u and Prime Minister Philemon Yang then worked with leaders of various political parties, religions, traditional groups leaders and foreign service officers to create an electoral code. Modibo Bouba Bello, the vice president of the Islamic Council, said that "it is our duty as servants of Allah to ensure that truth, transparency and justice reigns in our country, and this begins with elections in which every ballot counts," while he was supported by Reverend Sebastian Wongo Behong, the secretary general of the Cameroon Episcopal Conference, and Reverend Robert Ngoyek, the president of the Council of Protestant Churches. Behong said that "many democratising countries have frequently gone into chaos because of badly-organized elections. [The] electoral malpractices that are frequently observed in Cameroon could be leading the country towards a precipice." [4]

Islam in Cameroon

Muslims comprise roughly 20.5 percent or 4.7 million of the 23 million inhabitants in Cameroon. Approximately 27% identify themselves as Sunni, 12% Ahmadi and 3% Shia while the majority of the rest do not associate themselves with a particular group. In Cameroon, 48% of Muslims belong to a Sufi Tariqah (order). The Fulani, a pastoral nomadic group, spread Islam in early 19th century West Africa largely through commercial activity and Sufi brotherhoods. In the northern provinces, the locally dominant Fulani overwhelmingly is Muslim. Other ethnic groups, known collectively as the Kirdi, generally practice some form of Islam. The Bamoun ethnic group of the West Province is also largely Muslim.

Results

Official results were announced on 17 October 2013, showing that the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) had again won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly. The RDPC won 148 out of 180 seats, a slight decrease from the number of seats it won in 2007, while the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, won 18 seats, a slight increase. [5] [6] The National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) won five seats and the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC) won four. The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) and the Movement for the Defense of the Republic (MDR), two smaller parties which had been absent from the National Assembly for a time, regained representation; the UPC won three seats and the MDR obtained a single seat. One seat was also won by the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, which obtained parliamentary representation for the first time. [6]

Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement political party; name adopted by the Union Nationale Camerounaise in 1985.

The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in 1960, it was renamed in 1985. The National President of the CPDM is Paul Biya, the President of Cameroon, while the Secretary-General of the RDPC's Central Committee is Jean Nkuete.

Social Democratic Front (Cameroon) political party

The Social Democratic Front is the main opposition party of Cameroon. It is led by Ni John Fru Ndi and receives significant support from the Anglophone regions of the western part of the country.

The National Union for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Cameroon, drawing its main support from the north of the country. It was established as an opposition party in the early 1990s and won the second largest number of seats in the 1992 parliamentary election. The UNDP's National President is Maigari Bello Bouba, who is currently a Minister of State in the government.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement 148–5
Social Democratic Front 18+2
National Union for Democracy and Progress 5–1
Cameroon Democratic Union 40
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon 3+3
Cameroon Renaissance Movement 1New
Movement for the Defence of the Republic 1+1
22 other parties0
Total4,208,7961001800
Registered voters/turnout5,481,22676.79
Source: ThinkAfrica Press, IPU

Aftermath

When the National Assembly began meeting for its new parliamentary term, Cavaye Yeguié Djibril, an RDPC deputy, was re-elected as President of the National Assembly on 4 November 2013. Cavayé received the votes of 150 deputies, while 23 deputies cast invalid votes. Hilarion Etong, another RDPC deputy, was also re-elected as First Vice-President. Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba was retained in his post as President of the RDPC Parliamentary Group, while Joseph Banadzem was retained in his post as President of the SDF Parliamentary Group. [7] The remainder of the National Assembly's bureau was elected on 5 November: five vice presidents, four quaestors, and 12 secretaries. Four of the vice presidents were RDPC deputies, while one was an SDF deputy. Three of the quaestors were RDPC deputies, while one was an SDF deputy. 10 of the secretaries were RDPC deputies, while one was a UNDP deputy and one was a UDC deputy. [8]

Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba is a Cameroonian politician. He was President of the Parliamentary Group of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) in the National Assembly of Cameroon from 1992 to 1997 and he has held that post again since 2002.

Quaestor type of public official in Ancient Rome

A quaestor was a public official in Ancient Rome. The position served different functions depending on the period. In the Roman Kingdom, quaestores parricidii were appointed by the king to investigate and handle murders. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who supervised the state treasury and conducted audits. It was the lowest ranking position in the cursus honorum. However, this means that in the political environment of Rome, it was quite common for many aspiring politicians to take the position of quaestor as an early rung on the political ladder. In the Roman Empire, the position, which was initially replaced by the praefectus (prefect), reemerged during the late empire as quaestor intra Palatium, a position appointed by the emperor to lead the imperial council and respond to petitioners.

Related Research Articles

Paul Biya Cameroonian politician

Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician serving as the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

John Fru Ndi Cameroonian politician

Ni John Fru Ndi is a Cameroonian politician. He founded the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the main opposition party in Cameroon, in 1990, and he has led the party since then.

The Cameroon Democratic Union is a political party in Cameroon. It was founded by Adamou Ndam Njoya, a former Minister of National Education under President Ahmadou Ahidjo, on 26 April 1991.

Elections in Rwanda

Elections in Rwanda take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected, whilst the Senate is indirectly elected and partly appointed.

"Pa" Simon Achidi Achu is a Cameroonian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1992 to 1996. Previously he was Minister of Justice from 1972 to 1975. A leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), Achidi Achu was appointed as Chairman of the National Investment Corporation in 2003, and he was elected to the Senate of Cameroon in 2013.

National Assembly (Cameroon) parliament of Cameroon

The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Cameroon. It has 180 members, elected for five-year terms in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies.

2007 Cameroonian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 22 July 2007, with voting in some districts re-run on 30 September. Local elections were held on the same day, with seats on 363 town councils at stake. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), which won 153 of the 180 seats in the National Assembly, whilst the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), won 16 seats.

Augustin Frédéric Kodock was a Cameroonian politician who was Secretary-General of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon from 1991 to 2011. He worked in Cameroon's state administration during the 1960s and then worked at the African Development Bank through the 1970s. After a stint as head of Cameroon Airlines in the mid-1980s, he participated in the beginnings of multiparty politics in the early 1990s, becoming Secretary-General of the UPC. Allying himself with President Paul Biya, he was appointed to the government as Minister of State for Planning and Regional Development from 1992 to 1994 and then as Minister of State for Agriculture from 1994 to 1997. Subsequently he was again Minister of State for Agriculture from 2002 to 2004 and Minister of State for Planning from 2004 to 2007.

Dakole Daïssala is a Cameroonian politician and the President of the Movement for the Defense of the Republic (MDR), a political party based in Cameroon's Far North Region. He served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of State for Posts and Telecommunications from 1992 to 1997; subsequently he was a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2002 and then Minister of Transport from 2004 to 2007. He has served in the Senate since 2013.

Jean-Jacques Ekindi is a Cameroonian politician. He has been the National President of the Progressive Movement, an opposition political party, since its foundation in 1991, and he was a Deputy in the National Assembly of Cameroon from 2007 to 2013.

Hamadou Moustapha is a Cameroonian politician, currently serving as Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon. He served in the government from 1975 to 1983, again from 1992 to 1997, and he has held his current position at the Presidency since December 2004. Additionally, Moustapha is the National President of the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a small party that supports President Paul Biya.

René Emmanuel Sadi is a Cameroonian politician who has served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Territorial Administration since 2011. Under President Paul Biya, he was Second Assistant Secretary-General of the Presidency from 2004 to 2009 and Minister for Special Duties from 2009 to 2011. Sadi also served as Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), the ruling political party in Cameroon, from 2007 to 2011.

Cavayé Yéguié Djibril is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of the National Assembly of Cameroon since 1992. He is a leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM).

Emile Andze Andze is a Cameroonian politician who has been the Mayor of Yaoundé I, one of the seven urban districts of Yaoundé, since 1996. He is also the National President of the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon (CVUC).

Roger Nkodo Dang is a Cameroonian and African politician who serves as the President of the Pan-African Parliament and is also a member of the National Assembly of Cameroon. On 27 May 2015 Dang was elected as successor to Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi. He obtained 85 votes.

Joshua Osih

Joshua Osih is a Cameroonian politician. He was the vice president of the main opposition party in Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front (Cameroon) (SDF), and the first Anglophone Cameroonian to serve as a Parliamentarian in Douala, capital of the Littoral Region (Cameroon) in 2013. He is also the chairman of Camport PLC in Cameroon.

References