Cameroon Presidency: Constitutional Council can declare vacancy for resignation, says lawyer

Cameroonian lawyer Christian Bomo Ntimbane has asserted that President Paul Biya's extended absence from the country could legally be interpreted as a resignation. Biya has been outside Cameroon for 51 days, sparking intense public debate about a potential vacancy in the presidency. While the ruling RDPC party dismisses claims of a vacancy, Ntimbane argues that the Constitutional Council has the legal grounds to declare one based on abandonment of post.

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When there was the opening to claim for tariff refund based on the court ruling, we were one amongst the first to very proactively hand in all the requirements to apply for it.

Ntimbane explained that resignation can be manifested through abandoning one's post without legitimate reason. He noted that the Civil Cabinet's communication indicated the president was in Europe for a private stay, not official business. Given Biya's prolonged absence from his official workplace in Yaoundé, Ntimbane suggests he could be considered to have resigned, similar to civil servants suspected of abandoning their duties.

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The resignation being one of the constitutional grounds for opening the vacancy, the man of law explains that it materializes by the abandonment of post without legitimate reason.

The lawyer further pointed to the Civil Cabinet's "laconic" statement, which does not specify the president's exact location. This lack of official work activity, Ntimbane argues, casts doubt on the validity of decrees purportedly signed by the president. He believes the council of elders can declare the president's resignation based on this unjustified absence.

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The communication of the Civil Cabinet indicates that the head of state is in Europe for a private stay different from a professional or business trip.

This perspective intensifies the discussion on how a presidential vacancy can be declared due to prolonged absence. The constitution and existing laws offer little clarity on definitive incapacitation or limitations for a president's stay outside the country. Ntimbane suggests that this ongoing debate could eventually lead to clarifications and adjustments of the relevant legal texts.

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For these reasons, the executive president of the Héritage party, as he presents himself, believes that the college of elders can note the resignation of the President of the Republic.