Cameroon: Cameroon Sets February Date for Long-Delayed Parliamentary and Local Elections

What the report says

Cameroon has set 7 February 2027 as the date for long-delayed parliamentary and local elections, according to RFI, which said the announcement came in a decree issued by President Paul Biya. The vote will be the country’s first nationwide election since the contested presidential race in October 2025, when Biya was declared the winner and secured an eighth term after more than four decades in power.

The elections had already been postponed twice, and the new date is being seen as a test of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, or RDPC, which has long dominated parliament and local councils. In the 2020 polls, the party won a large majority of National Assembly seats and controlled most municipalities, but observers quoted by RFI suggested the next contest could be more competitive, including in northern areas linked to former ally Issa Tchiroma, who is now in exile.

RFI also reported that the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, which boycotted the 2020 elections, is expected to participate this time. In Yaounde, some residents welcomed the announcement as an opportunity for political renewal and a possible shift in direction. The development matters because combined legislative and local elections could reshape Cameroon’s balance of power and indicate whether the opposition can translate recent political momentum into seats and local influence.