Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, is set to get a vice president for the first time in his four-decade rule, following controversial constitutional changes backed by the parliament.
In a joint session of the ruling party-dominated National Assembly and Senate, lawmakers voted 200 to 18 in favour, with four abstentions, to pass the bill.
The bill stipulates that the vice president will automatically assume the presidency if President Paul Biya dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated.
Biya, 93, has led the Central African country since 1982 and is the world’s oldest serving head of state. Public discussion about his health is banned.
According to the legislation, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the vice president will be appointed and dismissed by the president, serving for the remainder of the president’s seven-year term.
However, the interim leader would be prohibited from initiating constitutional changes or running in a subsequent election.
Prior to the amendment, the constitution designated the leader of the Senate to briefly take over in case the sitting president d!es or is incapacitated. An election would then be held.
The Social Democratic Front (SDF) party, which has six representatives in parliament, boycotted the vote. It had pushed for a revision in favour of the vice-president being jointly elected with the president, rather than appointed.
The party also sought a constitutional provision that reflects the linguistic split between English and French-speaking regions. The SDF wanted the nation’s top two posts to be shared between Cameroon’s two communities, which was the position before 1972.
“This constitutional reform could have been a moment of political courage, but it is nothing less than a missed historic opportunity,” SDF chairman Joshua Osih said.
