{"id":7488,"date":"2026-07-23T22:32:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president"},"modified":"2026-07-24T00:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T00:06:14","slug":"cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president","title":{"rendered":"Cameroon Ruling Party Meets Without President"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>The ruling party in Cameroon called for a rare meeting of its senior leaders on Wednesday amid rising criticism directed at President Paul Biya, who is 93 years old and has spent the past 45 days abroad.<\/p>\n

Biya, the oldest head of state in the world, left Cameroon on June 7 for a trip described by a local source as a “short private stay in Europe,” and has not returned since. The government has not provided any information regarding his return.<\/p>\n

Jean Nkuete, the Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, who called for the meeting, did not disclose its agenda, merely describing it as an “important working session.” There were no immediate indications that the meeting was related to Biya’s prolonged absence from public view.<\/p>\n

Biya has held his position since 1982 and has spent long periods in Switzerland and other places in Europe over the years, but his advancing age has led to increasing speculation about his health, whereabouts, and ability to govern. His current trip abroad is the longest to date.<\/p>\n

After a similar period of absence from the country in 2024, the government banned discussions regarding Biya’s health, yet this did not prevent some opposition figures from commenting on his absence.<\/p>\n

The Cameroon Democratic Union, an opposition party, issued a statement on July 18, stating that officials should “provide the public with necessary clarifications regarding the effective continuity of the state.”<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post dated July 17, opposition deputy Jean Michel Nintcheu stated that the Constitutional Court should declare the presidency vacant.<\/p>\n

The government had previously denied reports that Biya was receiving medical treatment, asserting that he was capable of managing the affairs of the cocoa and oil-producing country efficiently from abroad.<\/p>\n

In April, lawmakers approved the reinstatement of the vice presidency, which would be the first position to succeed Biya, but this position has yet to be filled. Biya has also not appointed a new government despite winning the presidential election last October.<\/p>\n

In the same context, Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of State and National Secretary for Communications in the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), the ruling party, stated: “There is no vacuum of power at the highest level of the state.”<\/p>\n

Regarding the alleged power vacuum, Jacques Fame Ndongo described this claim as “legal barbarism, even political or logical.” The Minister of State pointed out that there is no legal or regulatory text in Cameroon that specifies a legal duration for the president’s absence from the country. Therefore, no one can apply a “non-existent constitutional text” to Paul Biya.<\/p>\n

Jacques Fame Ndongo asserts that such attempts stem from “a fertile and wandering imagination of those who believe in the law of quicksand.” He adds that the man who has led Cameroon since 1982 is performing his duties, closely monitoring the files presented to him by his staff, either in person or through well-known electronic means.<\/p>\n

The Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) responded immediately to this statement. The party of opposition leader Maurice Kamto, through its deputy Mamadou Mota, posed the question: “After how many weeks of actual absence does holding the highest office become merely an illusion? Forty-five days away from the homeland is not a stay, but actual exile.” The MRC mocks the idea that “Cameroon has become the first country in the world to be governed by remote work in secret,” referring to Biya, who is alleged to be monitoring files electronically.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. The ruling party in Cameroon called for a rare meeting of its senior leaders on Wednesday amid rising criticism directed at President Paul Biya, who is 93 years old and has spent the past 45 days abroad. Biya, the oldest head of state in the world, left Cameroon on June 7 for a trip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":7487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-7488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-policy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nCameroon Ruling Party Meets Without President - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The ruling party in Cameroon called for a rare meeting of its senior leaders on Wednesday amid rising criticism\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cameroon Ruling Party Meets Without President\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ruling party in Cameroon called for a rare meeting of its senior leaders on Wednesday amid rising criticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T22:32:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T00:06:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/07\/sm_1784851418.033667.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Cameroon Ruling Party Meets Without President\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-23T22:32:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T00:06:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/07\/sm_1784851418.033667.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/cameroon-ruling-party-meets-without-president\",\"name\":\"Cameroon Ruling Party Meets Without President - 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