YAOUNDE — Cameroon will finally hold its long-delayed legislative and municipal elections on Sunday, February 7, 2027, after President Paul Biya signed a decree convening the electorate, in a move announced on Monday, November 9 and read out on public radio.

Source: Al Jazeera, Nov 9 2026

The twin vote will choose members of the National Assembly and municipal councillors across the country. Both sets of office-holders were elected in February 2020 for five-year terms, but their mandates have been extended repeatedly after the government postponed the elections twice.

Source: NewsWatch Cameroon, Nov 10 2026

NewsWatch Cameroon reported that the first extension, decreed on July 24, 2024, prolonged the councillors' mandate by 15 months, to May 31, 2026, and that a second decree on May 4, 2026 — after April constitutional amendments gave Biya further powers over the electoral timetable — pushed it to February 28, 2027. Al Jazeera reported that lawmakers' terms were extended to December 20 and councillors' terms to February 28, 2027.

The legal timetable behind the date

The February 7 date follows Cameroon's Electoral Code, NewsWatch Cameroon reported: Section 86 requires voters to be called to the polls by presidential decree at least 90 days before election day, and Section 169 requires municipal elections at least 20 days before sitting councillors' mandates expire — in this case February 28, 2027.

In a separate decree, Biya also renewed the leadership of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the country's election management body, for another four years. Chairperson Enow Abrams Egbe keeps his post, as does Vice-Chairperson Amugu nee Abena Ekobena Appoline Marie, along with 10 other board members whose previous terms expired in July, NewsWatch Cameroon reported.

Source: NewsWatch Cameroon, Nov 10 2026

A tense backdrop: crackdown, exile and a missing reshuffle

The decree comes at a tense moment. Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and is the world's oldest head of state, won re-election in October 2025 in a vote that set off widespread protests, which authorities met with a crackdown. Lawyers cited by Human Rights Watch said security forces detained up to 2,000 people, and some of those detained remain in custody, the AFP news agency reported.

Source: Al Jazeera, Nov 9 2026

Last month the authorities suspended the Cameroon National Salvation Front (FSNC), the party of defeated presidential candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary. Bakary went into exile in the Gambia after declaring himself the winner of the presidential election and calling on supporters to defend his claimed victory — a claim the official results rejected.

Source: Al Jazeera, Nov 9 2026

Cameroon is also still awaiting a government reshuffle announced nearly a year ago and the appointment of a vice president. An April constitutional reform reintroduced the post, and its holder would be expected to succeed Biya in the event of his death. Questions about the 93-year-old president's health have continued to swirl — media debate about his health has been banned since 2024 — and in late August he returned to Yaounde after more than two months in Geneva, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition.

Source: Al Jazeera, Nov 9 2026