Published Thursday 12 November 2026 · Source: ruling-party circular of 11 November, presidential decree of 9 November, Cameroon’s Electoral Code
Key Facts
- Rule: Ministers, senators and regional councillors cannot stand for parliament’s lower house on the ruling party’s lists.
- Who: Paul Biya, 93, Cameroon’s president and head of the ruling party, issued the circular dated 11 November.
- Vote: Parliament and local councils are elected on Sunday 7 February 2027; candidacies are due about Tuesday 24 November.
- Not known: We could not find the full circular, and it is unclear whether the ban reaches council lists.
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has told ministers, senators and regional councillors, who sit on the country’s regional councils, that they may not stand on his ruling party’s lists for parliament in February. The rule sits in a circular dated Wednesday 11 November 2026, issued in his name, that governs how the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), the ruling party he leads, picks its candidates.
The ban matters because the RDPC won 152 of the 180 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house, in 2020, after a partial rerun that March, so its own candidate lists decide most races. Cameroon’s next parliament will sit under a president who is 93 and has ruled since 1982.
What the Circular Says
“No one may be a candidate in the election of deputies if he is a member of the government or equivalent, a senator or a regional councillor,” the circular reads, in our translation of the French passage printed in the Cameroonian press. It was issued in the name of Biya as national president of the RDPC.
The circular also bars members who are serving a party suspension or expulsion. Members of the party’s candidate-selection commissions may not run in the area their own commission covers.
The text asks for “substantial” gains for women, young people and new faces among candidates and their reserve candidates, known as substitutes. It also says lists must reflect the ethnic make-up of each constituency.
The central selection commission works under Biya’s own supervision. The circular also bars anyone from standing in both the Assembly and the municipal races at the same time.
Where the Vote Stands
Biya signed the decree calling voters to the polls on Monday 9 November, as we reported on the vote date. The Electoral Code, Cameroon’s election law, gives parties 15 days from the decree to file candidacies with Elections Cameroon (Elecam), the electoral commission that runs the vote, which puts the deadline for deputies about Tuesday 24 November, a date Elecam has still to confirm.
Voters will choose 180 deputies and the councillors of the country’s communes, as municipalities are called. The election has already been postponed twice.
What It Means for You
For investors and travellers, the circular changes no date and no rule of the election itself. It changes who can carry the ruling party’s colours, and so who will hold the seats that decide laws and budgets.
Ministers who wanted a seat now have to choose between their government post and parliament, or step aside for another candidate. Which of them planned to run, and whether any will leave office to do so, has not been said.
Our earlier coverage maps the key players in Cameroonian politics and explains the rules of succession if Biya leaves office. See all our Cameroon coverage for more.
What Is Not Known
We could not find the full circular, so we rely on the passages quoted in the Cameroonian press. The quoted sentence refers only to the election of deputies, so it is unclear whether the ministers’ ban also applies to council lists, although the circular does bar anyone from standing in both races at once.
No source has said why Biya added the ban or how many officials it affects. The opposition has not yet set out its own lists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is barred from running for Cameroon’s ruling party?
Members of the government, senators and regional councillors cannot be RDPC candidates for the National Assembly. The rule comes from a party circular dated 11 November 2026.
When is Cameroon’s parliamentary election?
Sunday 7 February 2027, for the 180 deputies and for councillors in 360 communes. President Paul Biya signed the decree calling it on Monday 9 November.
When must candidacies be filed?
Parties have 15 days from the decree, which puts the deadline for deputies about Tuesday 24 November 2026. Candidacies are filed with Elections Cameroon, the commission that runs the vote.
Does the ban cover municipal elections?
That is unclear, because the quoted sentence refers only to the election of deputies. The circular does bar anyone from standing in both the Assembly and council races at once.
Sources: Circular of the national president of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) of 11 November 2026 on candidate selection for the 7 February 2027 elections (passages quoted in the Cameroonian press; the full text was not available to us); presidential decree of 9 November 2026 calling the electorate; Electoral Code of Cameroon; official results of the 2020 legislative election.
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