Re-introduction of Vice Presidency: SDF says bill weakens legitimacy, ignores major historical grievance.

In a press statement issued Friday, April 3, following a press conference held in Yaounde, the opposition party denounced what it described as a rushed legislative process, before rejecting the Constitutional amendment, which introduces the post of the Vice President in the country.

According to the SDF, the creation of the Vice President position, appointed without popular legitimacy, constitutes an autocratic drift that undermines national unity and Republican pact. 

Two hours to examine bill

Speaking at the Yaounde press conference, SDF National Chairman, Osih Joshua, who is also a Member of Parliament, MP, told reporters that: “I address you today following the work of the Special Committee of the Congress of Parliament, of which I had the honour to be a member, and which has just adopted, at committee level, the Constitutional reform bill, without amendment”.

Hon Osih disclosed at the presser that: “We were given less than two hours to examine a text that nonetheless shapes the institutional future of our country. Less than two hours to read, to understand, to analyse... and to propose”.

He said despite this, the SDF assumed its responsibility by making proposals, which he noted were ignored.

Osih revealed that: “On behalf of the Social Democratic Front, we put forward an amendment simple in its wording, but fundamental in its significance an amendment grounded in truth and responsibility: That the President of the Republic and the Vice President be elected jointly on a single ticket, and that this ticket reflects the historical reality of our country, with one candidate originating from the former West Cameroon, and the other from the former East Cameroon”.

Osih explained that even in the absence of such joint election, the SDF had proposed at the very least that the historical reality be recognised in the composition of the executive.

He insisted that: “It is a matter of historical justice. The balance that defined the Federal Republic was not a concession. It was a pact. A pact of respect. A pact of recognition and a pact of unity”.

Osih regretted that the said pact has been progressively weakened, giving rise today to a sense of exclusion, a deep crisis of confidence, and a national fracture that no one can seriously deny.

He mentioned that the said constitutional reform could have been a moment of political courage but added that it is nothing less than a missed historic opportunity.

Osih said by rejecting all improvements and closing the door to meaningful dialogue, the majority has chosen to turn away from a historic opportunity for national reconciliation.

But beyond the said missed opportunity, the SDF Chieftain said there is something even more concerning. 

“The adopted text provides for a Vice President, who is: appointed by the President, and can be dismissed at his sole discretion. This raises a fundamental issue- in a democracy, power is not given. It is received from the people,” he said.

Osih was blunt that: “This is not a democratic progress. It is further concentration of power. What is being put in place is not a framework for democratic alternation. It is a system organising succession, under the exclusive control of the incumbent power”.

He added that “it is, in reality, a weird form of autocratic alternation”.

SDF not against reform

Speaking further during Friday’s press conference, Hon Osih told journalists that the SDF wasn’t opposed to reform. 

He clarified that: “We are opposed to a reform that weakens democracy, instead of strengthening it. We simply proposed greater legitimacy, greater balance and greater national cohesion”.

He was categorical that what has been adopted does exactly the opposite. 

“This text weakens legitimacy, reinforces centralisation, and ignores a major historical grievance. Cameroon deserves better than a rushed reform,” he noted.

Osih was explicit that Cameroon deserves a reform that is consistent with its history, responsive to its fractures and worthy of its aspirations.

He said: “…our amendment was a simple proposal to unite through law, reconcile through institutions, and build unity through justice”.

Osih was clear that: “…the debate does not end here. We will continue, with consistency and determination, to stand for a Cameroon built on justice, democracy, and genuine unity not proclaimed, but constructed”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3752 of Monday April 06, 2026