Cameroon Parliament Scraps Presidential Term Limits Against Popular Wish

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Already in power for 26 years, Cameroonian President Paul Biya,75, stubbornly and against the popular wish of Cameroonians got his ruling party’s majority in Parliament yesterday, April 10, to scrap presidential term limits, paving the way for him to run for the presidency again in 2011 when his second seven -year mandate ends.

To check any street demonstration and protests against the amendment of the constitution, the Biya regime has deployed armed troops in towns with opposition sympathies.

Biya ‘s ambition to run again was made public when in his end of 2007 state address he claimed that there were popular calls for him to stay in power whereas the calls came from his party elite. In that speech he had noted that limiting presidential terms was a mockery of democracy and even unconstitutional, a clear indication that he would seek another term.

The ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement(CPDM) whose national chairman is Paul Biya has 153 seats out of 180 in parliament while Cameroon’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, SDF, has only 15 seats. The SDF had cried loudly against the amendment of the constitution and even boycotted the debate in parliament on it but the CPDM MP’s who were reportedly bribed voted the for the scraping of the presidential tern limits.

Joseph Banadzem, SDF's parliamentary group leader said they boycotted the session because the SDF did not want to take part in legitimizing the fraud by the ruling CPDM “The whole issue is a complete fraud. We do not want to legitimize it by taking part.”
In February, the thousands of opposition militants had demonstrated against the amendment of the constitution to prolong Biya’s stay in power but were confronted by armed troops who shot many people to death.

Only one CPDM MP, Hon Abine Paul Ayah of Akwaya, an outspoken career magistrate of the highest grade, is on records to have turned down the bribe reportedly given by the Government to endorse the amendment so to please Paul Biya whose 26 year rule has left Cameroonians in poverty and misery. The other CPDM MPs were bought with money so easily and so cheap.