CDU denounces hasty, non-transparency surrounding Vice Presidency bill.

The reintroduction of post of Vice President of the Republic, as contained in Bill No.2094/PJL/, amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Constitution of June 2, 1972, as amended and supplemented by law No.96/06 of January 18, 1996, and law No. 2008/001 of April 14, 2008, was adopted by Members of Parliament, MPs, during the sixth Congress of Parliament last Saturday.  

The draft law, which is set to be enacted in the days ahead by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, was tabled on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

The bill has sparked widespread condemnation from all and sundry, especially from the political class, with the CDU party taking a queue. 

In a statement issued last Saturday, CDU National President, Tomaino Ndam Njoya, condemned the haste and lack of transparency surrounding the bill, submitted with serious flaws and notably omissions, likely to make the Constitution even more complex than it currently is.

According to her, the authorities responsible for governing the State derive their powers from the people via elections by direct or indirect universal suffrage, unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution.

The CDU leader noted that without consulting the major stakeholders like politicians, civil society, the media, and in short, the sovereign Cameroonian people, puts the country on the path of non-democratic and forced power devolution.

She also said the bill exposes the malicious intention of the regime to retaining members of Parliament, whose term, which expired over a year ago, was recently extended again for nine months.

As much as the advent of the Vice President position poses a problem, Tomaino questioned the “timing”, immediately after a Presidential election, rather than before.

“Ideally, however, the President and Vice President would have been elected on the same ticket,” she stated. 

Another point of curiosity for the politician, who doubles as Mayor of Foumban, is the narrow amendment of the Constitution, when there are several outdated provisions as well as legal gaps in the Constitution, especially given the current context.

Given the will expressed by the vast majority of Cameroonians, during the consultations during the Major National Dialogue in 2018, she said there has since been discussion of amending the Constitution, primarily to lower the voting age to 18, reduce the term and number of terms of the President of the Republic to five years, renewable only once and establishing a two-round voting system for the presidential election.

Another priority aspect that required amendment in the Constitution according to the CDU party, is the need to make all 100 Senate seats elective, explicitly make the offices of President of the Republic and President of a political party incompatible and increasing the number of MPs and establishing a formula for allocating seats based on population per constituency, amongst others.

Going by the CDU, all bills, especially those concerning the Constitution and the Electoral Code passed by the Parliament are in extreme disloyalty toward Cameroonian institutions and the people it incarnated.

“The anti-republican nature of the “injection” of an unknown third party during the elections, appointed as Head of State, a figure who is nevertheless called upon to replace the President of the Republic in the event of a vacancy,” she emphasised.

To avoid exacerbating the risks of political tensions, loss of public trust, and rejection of institutions, the UDC has called on the forces of change within the Republican Pact to put an end to arbitrariness and to ensure the triumph of the Republic, where everyone’s contribution is essential.

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