Gambiaj.com – (DOUALA, Cameroon) – Eleven Cameroonian intellectuals and civil society figures, most of them based in the diaspora, have called for a “constitutional transition” in Cameroon, arguing that the country is facing a deepening governance crisis and what they describe as a de facto power vacuum.
In a joint opinion published in the French newspaper Libération on October 5, the signatories delivered a sharply critical assessment of the country’s political situation, declaring that “the country is no longer governed” and that “there is a de facto vacancy of power.”
The authors said their initiative was not motivated by personal hostility, but portrayed Cameroon’s governing system as increasingly paralyzed. They described a state apparatus operating on “automatic pilot” and warned that the paralysis had become widespread.
For the signatories, the situation has reached a point where a political transition can no longer be postponed.
“A transition is becoming a historic necessity,” they argued, while also setting out principles they believe should guide such a process.
Anglophone crisis at the center of proposed transition
The group said any discussion about Cameroon’s political future must take into account the country’s historical and constitutional foundations, particularly its relationship between its French-speaking and English-speaking components.
They described Cameroon as having emerged from a partnership between two entities and argued that any credible transition must address the long-running Anglophone crisis and guarantee the effective coexistence of French and English within state institutions.
The position places the unresolved conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions at the heart of their proposed political settlement.
The signatories are effectively calling for a political process that goes beyond a change of leadership, insisting that the country’s institutional and linguistic balance must form part of any new political arrangement.
Call to exclude current government officials
The proposed transition would also involve a significant break with the existing political establishment.
The intellectuals argue that members of the current government should be excluded from any role in managing the transition. They also call for the reopening of political space and for a national dialogue aimed at building broad consensus around a constitutional transition.
Their proposal therefore goes beyond criticism of the current administration, presenting a framework for a reorganization of Cameroon’s political institutions and governance system.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of persistent political tensions in Cameroon, where President Paul Biya has dominated the country’s political landscape for decades.
The signatories’ call now places the question of a post-Biya political order more explicitly on the public agenda, arguing that the country needs a consensual constitutional process rather than continued governance under what they describe as a paralyzed system.
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