Overview
- President Paul Biya issued a presidential decree read on public radio on Monday that fixes legislative and local elections for February 7 next year.
- The vote follows two previous postponements that extended lawmakers' and municipal councillors' terms beyond their original end dates.
- Authorities suspended the Cameroon National Salvation Front last month and its leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, went into exile in The Gambia after declaring himself the presidential victor.
- Human Rights Watch cited lawyers who said security forces detained as many as 2,000 people after last year’s contested presidential vote, and some detainees remain in custody.
- The announcement comes as the government has not completed a promised reshuffle or named a vice-president created by April’s constitutional reform, deepening public concern about succession and governing capacity.