Cameroon sets date for twice-delayed legislative and local elections

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has announced that legislative and local elections will be held in the country on February 7 next year. The decree comes at a tense moment for Cameroon, with authorities cracking down on the opposition, roughly a year after an election that handed Biya another term. Lawyers cited by Human Rights Watch said security forces detained up to 2,000 people, and some of those detained remain in custody, according to the AFP news agency.

Biya’s government has already postponed Cameroon’s legislative and local elections twice, forcing the extension of lawmakers’ terms to December 20 and those of municipal councillors to February 28, 2027. The country is also awaiting a government reshuffle announced nearly a year ago and the appointment of a vice president. A constitutional reform reintroduced the post in April, and its holder would be expected to succeed Biya in the event of his death.

Questions about the president’s health have continued to swirl, with his frequent stays abroad fuelling debate over his ability to govern.