In this post we discussed the history of the assembly, the national assembly of Cameroon, constitutional changes and the function.
HISTORY OF THE ASSEMBLY
From a historical perspective, the National Assembly is the first institution of modern day Cameroon. It comes after the Representative Assembly of Cameroon (ARCAM) which was created on 22 December 1946 in accordance with the 7 October 1946 French law instituting Representative Assemblies in former French colonies.
This Representative Assembly (ARCAM) was constituted of 40 members, with 24 Cameroonian and 16 French representatives. It later became the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon (ATCAM) on 30 March 1952, then the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon (ALCAM) on 10 May 1957 and on 10 April 1960, it became the National Assembly.
At the same time, in British Cameroon, pursuant to the Macpherson Constitution, many Cameroonians sat in legislative organs in Nigeria, notably in the House of Representatives and in Regional Assemblies. These different Houses were replaced in 1962 by a Federal Assembly which, after the advent of the unitary State and in accordance with Section 12 of the 2 June 1972 Constitution, gave way to the second National Assembly following the legislative elections of 18 May 1973.With the adoption of the Constitution of 18 January 1996, the Cameroonian Parliament witnessed new and significant development. It became bicameral, with a National Assembly composed of 180 members elected by direct and secret universal suffrage for a five-year term of office.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The National Assembly (French: Assemblée Nationale) is the lower house of the Parliament of Cameroon. It has 180 members, elected for five-year terms in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies. Together with the senate, it constitutes the legislative arm of government.
Although multiparty elections have been held since 1992, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), the ruling party since independence, has always retained control of the National Assembly. The Cameroonian political system invests overwhelming power in the hands of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, and the RDPC exists essentially to support Biya and his policies. As a result, for most of Cameroon’s history since independence, the National Assembly has done little more than approve the President’s policies.
From 1992 to 1997, the RDPC relied on alliances with two smaller parties to secure a parliamentary majority. This has been the only period since independence that saw any meaningful opposition to presidential decisions. Beginning in 1997, the RDPC has won an outright majority in each election; its majorities have consistently improved as the opposition has weakened. Prior to 2013 and the creation of the Senate, the National Assembly was a unicameral chamber.
2008 CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
On 10 April 2008, the National Assembly overwhelmingly voted a bill to change the Constitution of Cameroon to provide the President of the Republic with immunity from prosecution for official acts and to allow him to run for an unlimited number of seven-year terms (it was previously limited to two terms) along with a number of other changes. The changes took place after a walk-out of the National Assembly by the opposition SDF representatives and just one month after widespread violence resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests protesting price rises and the proposed constitutional changes.[5] Five members of parliament voted against the bill.[citation needed] Opposition lawmakers and at least one deputy from the ruling RDPC, Paul Abine Ayah, criticized the bill as a setback for democracy and the country in general.
Read: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF MADAGASCAR
FUNCTIONING
Statutory session: At the beginning of the legislative period, the National Assembly shall meet in a statutory ordinary session on the second Tuesday following the proclamation of the parliamentary election results by the Constitutional Council.
Ordinary sessions: Each year, the National Assembly shall hold 3 (three) ordinary sessions, each lasting not more than 30 (thirty) days, in March, June and November.
Extraordinary sessions: The National Assembly may, in accordance with the Constitution, meet in extraordinary session for not more than 15 (fifteen) days on a specific agenda at the request of the President of the Republic or of one third of its members.
The extraordinary session shall wind up as soon as the agenda for which it was convened is exhausted.