Earthquake loading: Parliament meets in congress today to review Constitution.

Hon Datouo, who signed the Order in the capacity of President of the Bureau of Congress of Parliament, said it will be holding at the request of the Head of State, Paul Biya, “in order to amend some provisions of the Constitution”.

Business, he indicated, will start at a 11 a.m. at the seat of the National Assembly.  It will be the sixth Congress after the 5th which was for the inauguration of the Head of State on November 6, 2025.

It will be holding in line with declarations which the Head of State, Paul Biya, had made during his inaugural speech that texts will be introduced in parliament for adjustments that fit the country’s realities. 

Vice President post expected

What continues to be expected in this light is the reintroduction of the post of Vice President. Information about how such a position will fit into the current architecture of the country remains sketchy. 

It is also left to be seen the nature of changes which Biya would be proposing to parliament in the Constitution. The Congress fits into the provision of Section 14 (4)  of Law No. 96-6 of 18 January 1996, to amend the Constitution of June 2, 1972, which indicates that: “The two Houses of Parliament shall meet in Congress at the request of the President of the Republic, in order to: - be addressed by or receive a message from the President of the Republic; - receive the oath of members of the Constitutional Council; Expected Constitutional Amendment”.

With the release of House Speaker Hon Datouo, the business of the Congress to amend the Constitution, is clear but what changes Biya is seeking to make, remains to be seen. 

Potential VP provisions animating public opinion

As the nation waits to see what the President of the Republic will be proposing to parliament in relation to amending the Constitution, much of what has left people talking is the rumoured reintroduction of the post of Vice President.

What is already keeping the political mill active is that the proposed amendment will empower the Head of State to appoint a Vice President, after consulting parliament. Going by unconfirmed reports, the Constitution will give the President the power to dismiss the Vice President in the course of a mandate. 

Sources say what the executive is said to table to parliament will also position the Vice President as the second personality of the country after the Head of State.

In terms of sitting in for the Head of State, The Guardian Post gathered that the proposal to be sent to parliament today makes room for the Vice President to assume interim, if the Head of State is incapacitated. 

Lawmakers, we are told, will also be asked to input changes that gives the Vice President powers to succeed the President, in case of permanent incapacity or resignation, to complete a mandate with approval from the Constitutional Council.

To guarantee the linguistic uniqueness of the country, the amendment is also said to have a provision that gives room from alternation between Anglophones and Francophones.

In this light, MPs are said to be requested to change the Constitution to make it mandatory that if the President of the Republic is a Francophone, his Vice should be an Anglophone.

Sources have also briefed The Guardian Post that the Vice President must be someone with unquestionable moral standing and demonstrated experience in public service and must not be younger than 35 years, still enjoying his civil and political rights.

If he must act on behalf of the Head of State, the Constitution being envisaged, insiders say, will carry a provision requiring a decree from the President to exercise such delegated authority. The Constitution, the political mill holds, will also be worded to make the post of Vice President incompatible with any other venture.

While there could also be a provision mandating the Vice President to take the oath of office before Congress of Parliament, there are also reports that there will be a window in the soon-to-be reworked Constitution for the second in command to complete a mandate and run for election.

Electoral Code modification put on hold 

Before the convening of today’s Congress, both houses of Parliament had received Bill No.2093/PJL/AN, to amend Section 170 (2) of the Electoral Code to empower President Biya with the powers to indefinitely extend the mandate of municipal councillors.

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, had already explained the bill to the Chairmen’s Conference of the National Assembly.

Yet, on Tuesday March 31, 2026, the Secretary General of the National Assembly, Andre Noel Essian, issued a note announcing the postponement of the session to debate the bill, to a yet to be announced date.

There had been some disquiet with the request to give the President such powers, by removing the 18 months period in the Electoral Code. 

Many had linked the postponement to attempts to rework the bill but yesterday’s convening of the Congress of Parliament, observers are saying, tells of more maneuvering to get the bill adopted when the public least expected. 

Biya’s succession plan unfolding at last?

Beyond the revision of the Constitution, those who had long criticised President Biya, for not putting in place a clear succession plan, are now unanimous that things are about to change.

With the changes expected to empower with powers to appoint a Vice President, analysts say it is the start of a long journey for the President’s succession plan to unfold. 

For decades, Biya had been saying he doesn’t subscribe to the politics of having a dauphin, arguing that Cameroon is a democracy. With the Constitution to be modified today, many say they expect more surprises in the days ahead. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3749 of Thursday April 02, 2026