Biya convenes regional elections for November 30.

The decree specifies that voting will take place in all Divisional headquarters. Voting, the decree further detailed, shall begin at 8a.m. and end at 6p.m.

The upcoming regional election, it should be said, is the second in the history of the country. The first regional election held in 2020. 

Regional Councillors are voted for a mandate of five years eligible for re-election. Delegates of divisions are elected by indirect universal suffrage and representatives of traditional rulers elected by their peers. 

Separate presidential decrees of September 2, 2020, it should be recalled, fixed the number of Regional Councillors per Division and per category. 

It also laid down the terms and conditions for the payment of costs relating to the participation of members of the electoral colleges in the election of Regional Councillors. 

Per the said decrees, each region shall have 90 Regional Councillors, bringing the total number to 900 in the country. Of the 90 Regional Councillors per region to be elected by municipal councillors, 70 shall be delegates of Divisions and the other 20 shall be representatives of traditional rulers. 

Each Regional Council, per the legal instrument, shall reflect the sociological components of the region as well as gender aspects. 

Section 258 of the Electoral Code states that the divisional branches of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, shall draw up an electoral list comprising members of the two electoral colleges. 

The Electoral Code specifies that members of the electoral college, composed of representatives of traditional rulers must be domiciled within the territory of the Subdivision concerned.

Per Section 253 (2) of the Electoral Code, Police, Gendarmerie and prison administration officers, regional administration officers and employees, service persons, judicial and legal officers, and civil servants are judged incompatible to run for the election. 

Those whose candidature or lists of candidates are rejected or accepted may be challenged such a decision before a competent administrative court. 

The Regional Councils, it should be said, play a major part in the decentralisation process, as the deciding organ between the State and the local councils. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3553 of Wednesday September 03, 2025