| Parliament name |
Parlement - Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale - National Assembly / National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Sénat - Senate / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 22 July 2007
30 September 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 20 April 2007, President Paul Biya called parliamentary and municipal elections for 22 July.
In the previous elections held in 2002, the ruling Cameroon's People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) of President Biya had taken 149 of the 180 seats in the National Assembly. The main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) had won 22, while another opposition party, the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC), had taken five seats.
In 2007, 45 parties and 1,274 candidates vied for the 180 seats at stake. Being the only party to field candidates in all districts, the CPDM was largely expected to maintain its dominant position in the National Assembly. President Biya called on voters to support his past achievements, promising to work further towards good governance.
The SDF, led by Mr. John Fru Ndi, drew attention to corruption, after the Harvard University Governance Perception Index classified Cameroon as one of the five worst countries in terms of good governance. The opposition also accused the CPDM of trying to change the Constitution in order to enable Mr. Biya, who has been President since 1984, to obtain a third term in office.
The opposition parties led election campaigns in their respective strongholds. The SDF has a stronghold in English-speaking provinces in the north-west and south-west. The UDC leader, Mr. Adamou Ndam Njoya (a main opposition candidate in the 2004 presidential elections), has support in the western province. Another opposition party, the Progressive Movement (MP), also fielded candidates.
Approximately 62 per cent of the 5.5 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The SDF and other opposition parties alleged election fraud and challenged the results in court. As many as 103 cases were filed with the Supreme Court, which subsequently invalidated the elections results in five constituencies. Elections were repeated on 30 September, when the CPDM took 15 of the seats at stake, while the SDF took two.
The final results gave 153 seats to the CPDM, and six to its ally, the National Union for Democracy and Progress. The main opposition SDF lost six seats, taking 16. The UDC and the MP won four and one seats respectively.
The newly elected members were sworn in on 21 August. On 31 August, they re-elected Mr. Djibril Cavayé Yeguie as Speaker of the National Assembly. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 (from/to) | 22 July 2007
30 September 2007 |
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Election on 30 Sep. |
|
|
|
| Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) |
153
|
13 |
|
|
|
| Social Democratic Front (SDF) |
16
|
2 |
|
|
|
| National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) |
6
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC) |
4
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Progressive Movement (MP) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
155
25
13.89%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
| Source: National Assembly (27.08.2007, 10.12.2007) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
