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Constitution & political system
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Constitution
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- adopted 20 May 1972, revised 1975 and 1996.
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Legal system
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- based on French civil law system, with common law influences
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Legislative branch
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- unicameral National Assembly (180 seats) elected for a five year term.
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Elections
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- Legislative last held May 1997; presidential last held October 1997.
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Pre-Colonial history
Cameroon has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years according to archaeological evidence of hunter-gatherers who lived in small, nomadic communities. There is also evidence that Bantu-speakers originated in western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria well before the Early Iron Age. From as early as the 10th century commerce brought Arab and Islamic influences to northern Cameroon – gold, salt, bronze, copper and especially slaves were traded. In fact, up to 10,000 slaves are estimated to have crossed the Sahara to North Africa over a period of five centuries. Immigration and conquests also played a role in the growth of Islam which became a powerful force in the northern and central parts of the country. The 16th century invasion of the Sao, which had been the most important kingdom in the region since the 9th century, and the subsequent rise of the Kotoko kingdom also broadened the Islamic presence.
In 1472 Portuguese mariners arrived, subsequently naming the area Rio dos Camaråos, or River of Prawns having found what they thought were shrimps in the estuaries. By the 16th century, Cameroon had become a major source of slaves for the New World, involving the Portuguese, Dutch, British, French and finally the Americans. It was with the abolition of the slave trade in the early 1800s that the British and Germans began developing commerce in alternative commodities such as ivory, rubber and cash crops. In spite of the predominant role of the British, in 1884 the Germans established the protectorate of Kamerun and subsequently developed the export of cash crops.
Colonial history
During World War 1 British, French and Belgian armies invaded German Kamerun, and through the League of Nations it was divided up, beginning a period of British rule in two small portions in the west and French rule in the remainder of the territory. The economies of both territories were dependent on agricultural exports, development concentrated in the fertile south rather that the remote and arid north. In other respects vast differences developed in infrastructure, health care and education. For Great Britain it was a marginal province of the colony of Nigeria, while France considered Cameroun one of its model colonies. At independence French Cameroun had a much higher GNP per capita, and much higher social indicators than the British territory. Nevertheless, there was some sense of common identity linking the two territories.
The drive to independence
After World War 11 strong feelings of nationalism began to emerge. Three parties emerged: the Union des populations du Cameroun (UPC), formed in the late 1940s and operating mainly in exile, called for complete independence from France as well as reunification of the two Camerouns; and the more moderate parties - the southern and central D’Umocrates, and the northern Union Camerounaise (UC) led by Ahmadou Ahidjo. In 1957 French Cameroun became an autonomous state within the French Community, and on 1st January 1960 gained independence with Ahidjo as its president. A year later the southern portion of British-ruled Cameroun voted to join the newly independent state; Northern Cameroun voted to merge with Nigeria. The New Federal Republic of Cameroon comprised two states– the former French Zone became East Cameroon, the former British zone, West Cameroon.
Post-colonial history
Ever mindful of the need to bury the colonial legacy of divisive ethnic, regional, religious and linguistic identities, Ahidjo as “father of the nation”, concentrated on building national unity. Decision-making was centralized and different regional and ethnic group interests were incorporated under the ruling Union nationale cameroun (CNU) formed in 1966. Ethnic representation was carefully balanced in the cabinet and the national assembly The referendum of 1972 which replaced the old federation of former British- and French-ruled Cameroon with a republic entitled the Republique du Cameroun, was a further reflection of his consensual style politics. Underlying this was Ahidjo’s authoritarian style of control over a single-party state – the media was censored, and police and military ensured the suppression of any vestiges of opposition, while infrastructure development projects helped the government to centralize control in the capital, Yaounde. Good relations with France and Ahidjo’s control over the economy in particular made possible the latter. Nevertheless, clandestine groups opposed to Ahidjo’s autocratic rule began to emerge in the late 1970’s, especially in the English speaking south-west.
Re-elected for a further five-year term in 1980, Ahidjo resigned suddenly in 1982 on the grounds of ill-health and handed over power to Paul Biya, the prime minister and his chosen successor.
The Biya Presidency of the 1980s
There was some initial uncertainty and tension. A reform process started as early as November 1982 followed the peaceful transfer of power. A greater degree of individual freedom and freedom of expression was tolerated, and a new form of one-party participatory democracy encouraged, although actions ultimately fell short of words. Ahidjo, who remained in an equally powerful position as head of the CNU, did not relinquish complete control, continuing to try to influence policy. Conflicts between he and Biya eventually led to an uprising and coup plot which Biya suppressed, but which temporarily destabilized the Biya regime. Ahidjo left the country, dying in exile in 1989.
By the mid-1980s Biya had succeeded in consolidating his position as head of state and chairman of party, allowing him to implement a new electoral procedure. He also abandoned the consensual approach of Ahidjo and the north-south accommodation of political forces in government. Those loyal to the former president were replaced, while Biya built his own political machine by replacing the CNU with the Rassemblement démocratique du people camerounais (RDPC), the sole legal party, and advocating “communal liberalism”. Ever conscious of regional, ethnic and religious differences, Biya promoted single party rule as the only way to prevent divisive politics. It soon became apparent that early reforms initially welcomed after two decades of Ahidjo’s autocratic rule, were tailored to ensure his continued rule and were more symbolic than real. Biya’s style of leadership was more one of promoting patronage, which acted to undermine efficiency in government and contribute to the marginalization of a number of important constituencies, especially northerners and the minority Anglophone community.
The late 1980’s saw an environment of increasing tension as political pressure for reform intensified. Several factors contributed to this shift. Ongoing corruption in government, nepotism and patronage had continued unabated. Northerners and Muslims who had enjoyed a privileged position under Ahidjo saw their political influence eroded in favour of Biya’s ethnic group, the Beti. And by 1987, Cameroon’s oil boom had ended, with accompanying high rates of unemployment which reflected the worsening economic situation creating further discontent. External factors also played a critical role in the challenges to one-party rule– political development in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe acted as a catalyst for change, with added impetus coming from France and other western nations who, with the ending of the Cold War, no longer saw it necessary to support such regimes and exerted pressure for political reforms. His hand forced, in December 1990 Pres. Biya began a process of cautious political reform authorizing a constitutional amendment which provided for the establishment of a multiparty system. Nevertheless, Biya’s refusal to allow for a new constitution provoked a massive strike throughout the south in 1991 which virtually brought the economy to a standstill.
Resistance and change
By July 1991 more than a dozen parties had been legalized, but Biya had worked behind the scenes to ensure a political environment that would ensure the continuation of his presidency. This he did using a“carrot and stick” approach– in a climate of growing intimidation of the opposition and the press, he granted opposition parties certain concessions and brought forward legislative elections by one year and presidential elections by six months. Biya also strategically divided the opposition by co-opting some of the opposition into his administration. The opposition parties for their part, though, failed to organize a sustained and well-coordinated strategy against Biya. This was largely because support for the opposition parties were based on ethnic and religious loyalties, than on any clearly defined ideological differences, and because of internal bickering.
In the multi-party legislative election in 1992, Biya’s RDPC won by a narrow majority, and in the presidential elections in October of the same year, Biya won, albeit by a narrow margin (39.9% to the Social Democratic Front Fru Ndi’s 35.9%) amidst widespread accusations of election irregularities. Subsequent riots were quickly quelled and the opposition recede, Biya continuing in his efforts to cripple the opposition parties after his election through intimidation and harassment.
Biya’s announcement in late 1994 to form a constitutional review committee was seen as an effort to placate demands for a return to the federal structure from the two Anglophone provinces, as well as demands for other constitutional reforms A new constitution was promulgated in January 1996. Although it provided for local and regional elections, it also gave the executive branch of government broad powers, lengthened the presidential term of office from 5 years to 7 years, and allowed Biya to run for a fourth consecutive term in 1997.
The legislative election in May 1997 was marred by pre- and post-election violence amidst numerous alleged irregularities and intimidation, and a highly defective voter registration list. Biya’s Rassemblement démocrtique du people camerounais (RDPC) won 109 of the 180 seats in the National Assembly, with the Social Democratic Front (SDF), which up until June said it would boycott the elections, winning 43 seats. In protest at the absence of any independent electoral commission, both the SDF and the northern-based Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progress (UNDP) boycotted the presidential election in October, clearing the way for Biya’s re-election although it was contested by seven candidates. .Biya’s new government was composed of four of Cameroon’s some 150 political parties, and the RDPC retained 45 of the 50 seats.
The post-election period
In December 1999 the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), an Anglophone separatist movement, seized the provincial radio station of Buea, and proclaimed the independence of “The Federal Republic of Southern Cameroon”. Support for the separatist cause subsequently flagged with the arrest and imprisonment without trial of several members of the self-declared political leadership.
The economy has continued to grow since the late 1990s and political tensions have eased with Biya, like his predecessor, now forging a sense of national unity across ethnic, regional and religious divisions by way of his consensus-based coalition government. To a large extent this has been done on the back of the UNDPs subsequent joining of the coalition government 1997, a coalition of the north-south much like that that which underpinned the political stability of the 1960’s and 1970s. Since April 2001 Marafa Hamidou Yaya, the most powerful northerner in the government, has occupied the strategically sensitive post of secretary-general at the presidency and is the de facto number two in government. At the same time Biya has distanced himself from the hardliners of the south (his home region) and won the support of the Sawas from the coastal areas and the Bamiléké business leaders from the western provinces. In a surprise move, Peter Mafany Musonge, a Sawa from the English speaking South west province was appointed Prime Minister in 1997. He represents the interests of the domestic business community and donors. The ruling party now has broad-based support in seven of the ten provinces, while the opposition parties have lost the influence they enjoyed in the early 1990s.
A shrewd and strategic thinker, Biya has continued to profess a firm belief in freedom and democracy, but has not allowed any changes that threaten a continuation of his stay in power. Changes have in effect been more symbolic than real - he has preached about changes but his actions have fallen far short of his words, palliatives designed to weaken his opposition. In December 2000, under opposition pressure for democratic changes, parliament finally passed a bill for the creation of the Observatoire nationale des électional (ONEL), to control and supervise all phases of the electoral process. However, at the same time most of the key constitutional changes have not been implemented.,
The opposition remains weak, divided, and increasingly marginalized having lost their earlier influence because of failure to present any well coordinated challenge to Biya. Divisive personal ambitions and lack of resources are one factor, the co-option strategy of Biya is yet another. The largest opposition party, the SDF has suffered from factional splits mainly because of the autocratic style of its leader, John Fru Ndi, while the leader of the Union démocratique duCameroun (UDC) based in the western provinces, like Ndi, has shown some ambivalence in indicating his willingness to join the government following attempts at reconciliation by Biya.
Biya has not, however, been able to contain the increasingly vociferous calls for secession from Angolophone Cameroon. Over the last decades, political marginalization and discrimination have grown stronger with pro-secessionist movements such as the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Southern National Youth League (SCYL) demanding greater regional autonomy. The simmering conflict was contained briefly following the 1999 crackdown, but activists used the platform of the 40-year unification celebrations in October 2001 to hold peaceful demonstrations in protest against their marginalization in national politics and to demand greater political rights. Biya again used strong-arm tactics in suppressing the protests, to which Amnesty International responded, urging authorities to respect rights of freedom and expression.
Outlook for 2002
While Cameroon presents a quiet and relatively stable political scene unlike most of its neighbours, this belies a potential for growing unrest amid calls for separation by Anglophone Cameroon, growing pressures for further political opening up, and concerns expressed both locally and by the international community about human rights abuses. No dramatic political change is likely, however – aided by continued economic growth, Biya’s policy of co-option and promotion of patronage, and his suppression of opposition, will continue to lend legitimacy to the president and his ruling party.
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