Countdown To Deadline For Parties To Submit Files Of Candidates, After President Biya Finally Convened Electorates For Legislative And Municipal Elections.

The Deadline For The Submission Of Files Of Candidates For The Legislative And Municipal Elections Slated For February 7, 2027, Is Nov. 24. That Is, 15 Days After President BIYA On Nov. 9 Convened Electorates To The Polls For The Twin Elections. The President Also Renewed Mandate Of Members Of Electoral Board Of ELECAM. Board Chair Of ELECAM, ENOW Abrams EGBE, Has Cautioned Parties And Candidates To Be Very Careful With The Orthography Of Names Of Candidates. Or Else – – –

The President of the Republic, 94 year old Paul Biya, in the evening of November 9, 2026, signed Decree No. 2026 / 345 of 09 November 2026 , convening electorates to the polls for the long delayed legislative and municipal elections, finally scheduled to hold on Sunday, February 7, 2027. According to the decree signed by the President of the Republic, voting at the twin elections will start on February 7, 2027 at 8am, and end at 6 pm.

t would be recalled that The Mentor on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, wrote that President Biya was expected to convene electorates for the legislative and municipal elections latest on November 9, 2026, and that the elections were expected to hold in early February 2027. And so it came to pass.

Two Additional Years To The Mandate

It would be recalled as well, that the last legislative and municipal elections took place on February 9, 2020, and the next elections were supposed to hold in February 2025, since members of the National Assembly and municipal councilors, have a five year mandate. But then the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, postponed the legislative and municipal elections twice. The twin elections were first postponed to February 2026, and again postpone to February 2027. The reason advanced by the Government for the postponements, was the lack of funds. But the postponements meant that the outgoing MPS and councilor haves been hanging on for seven years, when they were voted for a five year mandate, meaning an additional 2 years to their mandate given by the President.

Not The First Tine The Elections Were Postponed Twice

It should however be noted that it was not the first time that President Biya postponed the legislative and municipal elections twice, all under the pretext of lack of funds. In 2018, President Biya postponed the legislative and municipal elections that were supposed to hold that year, first to 2019, and then again to 2020.

It should also be noted that there are a total of 360 municipal councils in the country, and that there are a total of 180 parliamentary seats. At the last legislative and municipal elections which took place on February 9, 2020, the ruling CPDM Party that has the tradition of using both fair and unfair means to ‘win’ election at all cost, alone grabbed as many as 316 municipal councils out of the total of 360 municipal councils, and also alone grabbed as many as 152 parliamentary seats, out of the total of 180 parliamentary seats.

Worth noting as well, that the Law does not obliges the holding of legislative and municipal elections as twin elections. Rather it is the CPDM Government of President Biya that always decides to hold the two elections as twin elections, on the ground that it reduces cost. In fact since the rebirth of multiparty politics in 1990 – 1991, and thus the rebirth of multiparty elections, it is only once that the legislative and municipal elections have been organized separately. That was in 1996 (municipal elections) and 1997 (legislative elections).

.Renewal Of Mandate Or Members Of Members Of Electoral Board Of ELECAM

Meanwhile another Presidential Decree (No. 2026 / 344 of 09 November, 2026) signed by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, on November 9, 2026 renewed the four year mandate of members of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. It should be noted that Elections Cameroon is an institution  created by Government, charged with organizing elections in the country.

Meanwhile, the members of the Electoral Board of  ELECAM  whose four year mandate was renewed on November 9, 2026 by President Biya include:

PRESIDENT – ENOW Abrams EGBE
VICE PRESIDENT – Madam AMUGU nee ABENA EKOBENA Appoline Marie

MEMBERS
WOMEN: – BOMBA NKOLO Cecile
– EPOH nee NGO HAGBE BELL Clemence Fleur
– NJEUMA nee EFANGE Dorothy LIMUNGA
– SADOU DAODOU nee LADY BAWA
MEN : – ADAMOU ALI
– BELLE AMOUGOU Dieudonne
– EJAKE MBONDA Thomas
– HAMAN DAHIROU
– MBONDA Elie
– NGA Gasper THAIRINYUY

Communiqué By The Board Chair Of ELECAM

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Electoral Board of ELECAM, Enow Abrams Egbe, on November 10, 2026 issued a communiqué cautioning all those who want to run in the February 7, 2027 legislative and municipal elections, as well as their political parties, to pay particular attention to the harmonization of the orthography of the candidates’ names on all the documents (individual documents and party documents) to be submitted to ELECAM, in a bid to avoid any unpleasant situation at the end.

To be precise, the Board Chair of ELECAM has stated that the spellings and order of the names (surname and other names) of a candidate, on his individual or personal documents like the National Identity Card and other required personal documents, as well as any document to be issued by the party, have to be exactly the same, and in order.
The Board Chair of ELECAM has advised political parties that in a case where there is problem in the spelling or order of a candidate’s names in the different documents, the party should ensure that the candidate obtains a genuine Certificate of Individuality, attesting that the different names or surnames are of the same person.