Cameroon - Local government



The Republic of Cameroon is divided into 10 administrative provinces, each placed under the jurisdiction of a governor appointed by the head of state. Each province is subdivided into departments, which are under the administrative control of divisional officers ( préfets ). In turn, departments are composed of subdivisions ( arrondissements ) headed by assistant divisional officers ( sous-préfets ). Municipal officials are elected for five-year terms. Traditional institutions such as chiefdoms were in noticeable decline during the 1970s and 1980s, although traditional rulers were treated as administrative adjuncts and received a government salary.

In 1996, Biya's government organized relatively free and fair municipal elections where opposition candidates won in nearly every major city. However, three-fourths of the local councils are dominated by the ruling coalition. Municipal elections for 336 local councils were held on 30 June 2002, and were charged by church leaders and opposition politicians as being flawed; vote-buying, stuffing of ballot boxes, intimidation, and multiple voting were among the accusations brought by the opposition. In January 2003, Biya announced that the government would begin a major program of decentralization to complete the process of democratization begun by the June parliamentary and municipal elections.

Also read article about Cameroon from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

Cameroon is a country of numerous administrative problems the porous nature of our electoral system being the most pertinent of them. This is what makes several Cameroonians to doubt the transparency of Elections Cameroon(ELECAM).The question that constantly pops up in my mind is;

1. Is it the fault of the President or
2. Is it the fault of the administration and its administrators?
can we get some write ups on all the councils in Cameroon and a brief history of them? this will be good for we really need to make our country the Best in Africa
3
astride love
WHAT IS REALLY THE AIM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT? IS IT TO MAINTAIN POWER WITHIN A GIVEN GROUP AS HEAD OF MUNICIPALITIES ARE MOSTLY FOLLOWERS OF THE LEADING PARTY?
4
Gaspard
Please give more details about the history and fonctions of councils
5
Rashidatu Dao
Information on the role played by local government in the development of local areas in Cameroon is highly needed especially by student on research, please can someone help with a write up on it

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: