By Noela EBOB BISONG
The Speaker of Cameroon’s National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, has maintained that the postponement of the Parliamentary election from 2025 to 2026 was a major necessity, which otherwise would have altered the proper functioning of the country.
He was speaking last July 10, 2024 in Yaounde, during the close of the second Ordinary Session of the National Assembly. The June session of Parliament opened last June 11, 2024. The 30-minute closing Plenary Sitting started at 11:00am, with main agenda the closing speech of House Speaker, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril.
During the 30 days, members of Parliament MPs of the Lower House scrutinised 12 (twelve) bills, including that to extend the term of office of Members of the National Assembly.
According to Cavaye, “The extension of the term of office of Members of the National Assembly is warranted in 2024 because several elections were earmarked for 2025, namely presidential elections, regional elections, legislative elections and municipal elections. Organising three direct elections and one indirect election in Cameroon in 2025 would have taken up the whole year, a prospect that would have had serious implications, altered the proper functioning of the country and warranted a huge expenditure outlay to organise all the four elections in a single year”, he explained.
The Speaker in his closing speech also dwelled on the MINSEP-FECAFOOT impasse which spark off in April, observing that “…calm has, at least, returned to the explosive situation that some have qualified as the standoff between Government and the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT). A standoff that, we think, sparked off from the appointment of the head coach and the technical staff of our national football team, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. I would like to think that the ongoing calm is not a camouflage, the kind of calm that can be likened to fire that is glowing under ashes. I am also hopeful that the voice of reason would continue to prevail and peace will, before long, finally reign among the national football team players themselves and among the technical and administrative staff or among government officials”, he said.
The June session also witnessed three Question Time sittings and a sitting to scrutinise the 2025-2027 Medium Term Budgeting and Economic Planning Paper as well as Parliament meeting in congress to administer the oath of office to Madam Florence Arrey Rita, a member of the Constitutional Council appointed by the President of the Republic.
Cavaye also used the occasion to congratulate the Senior Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Hilarion Etong following his election as President of the Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly (APF). Hon Etong was elected during the 49th ordinary session of the APF general assembly meeting that held from July 6 to 9, 2024 in Montreal, Canada.