Cameroon opposition asks parliament to declare presidency vacant over Biya's absence

Hiram Samuel Iyodi, president of the Movement for the Prosperity of the People (MP3), has formally asked Cameroon's National Assembly to declare the presidency vacant. The request stems from President Paul Biya's 61 consecutive days outside Cameroon, a duration Iyodi deems excessive and indicative of a definitive impediment.

Iyodi's petition to National Assembly President Théodore Datouo highlights several concerns beyond Biya's absence. These include a perceived threat to national stability and continuity, the unfulfilled restoration of a vice-presidency, intense succession struggles, uncontrolled national debt, and escalating security crises. The MP3 argues that this context risks an institutional crisis.

The MP3 has put forth three demands to Parliament: to pass a law limiting the head of state's time abroad, to acknowledge the significant risks to the nation's stability, and to petition the Constitutional Council to officially declare the presidency vacant. The party's move challenges current legal frameworks, as a 2026 law grants only the vice-president the power to initiate such a declaration in cases of presidential impediment.

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