Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, a Cameroonian civil society figure and sports administrator, said in a Facebook post on 21 October 2026 that the electoral calendar has become a state secret, and accused the government of using the uncertainty to unsettle its opponents. He based the claim on the constitutional and electoral rules that govern the end of the mandates of members of the National Assembly and of municipal councillors.
Parliament's mandate was extended a second time on 25 March 2026, to 20 December 2026. Article 15, paragraph 4 of the constitution provides that when the mandate of members of the National Assembly is extended, the election of a new Assembly takes place no earlier than 40 days and no later than 120 days after the extension ends. Babba reads that to place the legislative elections between 30 January 2027 and 19 April 2027. The mandate of municipal councillors was extended a second time on 4 May 2026, to 28 February 2027. Article 169, paragraph 3 of the electoral code provides that the municipal election takes place no later than 20 days before the councillors' mandates expire, which Babba puts at 8 February 2027.
If the two elections are held on the same day, Babba argues, they must fall between 30 January 2027 and 8 February 2027, which would require the electoral college to be convened between 2 November 2026 and 9 November 2026. Past midnight on 9 November 2026, he says, the only remaining option would be a third extension of the municipal mandates. That conclusion rests on his assumption that the two ballots are coupled. The legislative and municipal elections are not required to be held on the same day, and the dates Babba gives are his reading of the law rather than an official calendar.
Babba also accused the government of keeping the calendar unclear on purpose, saying it is used as a weapon to destabilise what he called the real opposition. He presented no evidence of a deliberate strategy in his post. He called on candidates who want to run to prepare their files by 30 October 2026, and suggested that final party nominations and political agreements be settled in the 15 days after the electoral college is convened.
The electoral code gives the president of the republic the power to convene the electoral college, and the body that runs the elections, ELECAM, publishes the calendar once it is set. Neither the presidency nor ELECAM has issued a statement on the dates, and no official calendar has been published. The last extension of the parliamentary mandate, on 25 March 2026, followed the same pattern: a law passed by Parliament and promulgated by the president, with the election date announced later.
The date to watch is 9 November 2026. If the electoral college has not been convened by then, and if the municipal and legislative ballots are to be held together, the municipal mandates would have to be extended again by law, which would require a session of Parliament and a text signed by the president. A separate legislative election, held later than 8 February 2027, would avoid that step. Babba's own deadline for candidates, 30 October 2026, falls before either date.
Sources
- Cameroun Actuel Abdouraman Hamadou Babba : " le calendrier électoral est devenu un secret d'État au Cameroun "
- Actu Cameroun Abdouraman Hamadou : " le calendrier électoral est devenu un secret d'État au Cameroun "
- Le Bled Parle " Le calendrier électoral est devenu un secret d'État " : Abdouraman Hamadou Babba tonne à quelques mois des élections municipales et législatives