Biya convenes Senatorial election for March 12.

Biya in a Presidential decree signed Friday, January 13, announced the holding of the said election for Sunday, March 12, 2023.

“The electoral college is hereby convened to the chief town of each division on Sunday 12 March 2023 for the election of senators,” the decree states, adding that “voting shall begin at 8am and end at 6pm”.

 The convening of the electoral college for the said election was done in accordance with the constitutional provisions in force.

According to the electoral code, candidates for the office of Senator have 15 days starting from the date of the announcement to declare their candidacies, hence they have until January 28 to do so.

These declarations must be made in triplicate and bear the legalised signatures of the candidates. The documents are deposited and registered against a receipt at the General Directorate of Elections at Elections Cameroon, ELECAM or at the level of the regional branches of ELECAM of the constituency concerned.

A copy shall be immediately filed with the Constitutional Council by the candidate or his or her representative against a receipt.

Interested candidate must be at least 40-years-old as of the date of the election, be a Cameroonian citizen of origin and have an effective residence in the region concerned.

The Cameroon Senate which was created in 1996 after an amendment to the constitution, has 100 members, 70 of whom are elected while the remaining 30 others are appointed by the Head of State.

However, it took 17 years for the first ever Senatorial election to be organised on April 14, 2013.

The current crop of Senators who were elected in March 2018 are eligible for re-election while those appointed at the same time by the Head of State may see their mandates renewed for another five-year period.

Since the convening of the electoral college Friday, political parties are already working to get the list of their candidates who will contest the election.