Unconstitutional constitutional amendment or constitutional dismemberment? A reappraisal of the presidential term limit amendment in Cameroon

Enonchong, Laura-Stella

Abstract

Presidential term limit provisions are often perceived as a feature of modern democratic systems. It has been argued that their existence is a key intervention mechanism to pre-empt some undemocratic outcomes associated with incumbency advantages. In 2008, the Constitution of Cameroon was amended to abolish the presidential term limit. More than ten years on, there are ostensible signs of a democratic decline. This article takes a retrospective look at the constitutional amendment to assess its constitutionality. It is argued that a conclusion on the constitutionality of the amendment may not be unequivocal. Nevertheless, there are substantial grounds for considering the constitutional change as a constitutional dismemberment. This is premised on the fact that, although the amendment followed the normal rules for constitutional amendments, the transformation amounted to a fundamental break with the constitutional commitment to democracy that underpinned the adoption of the 1996 Constitution.

Citation

Enonchong, L.-S. (2022). Unconstitutional constitutional amendment or constitutional dismemberment? A reappraisal of the presidential term limit amendment in Cameroon. Global Constitutionalism, 11(2), 274-296. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045381721000290

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 12, 2024
• Journal: Global Constitutionalism
• Print ISSN: 2045-3817
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-3825
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 274-296
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045381721000290
• Keywords: Cameroon; presidential term limit provisions; incumbency advantage; constitutional dismemberment; constitutional amendment
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-constitutionalism/article/unconstitutional-constitutional-amendment-or-constitutional-dismemberment-a-reappraisal-of-the-presidential-term-limit-amendment-in-cameroon/DE4EC3A5CE737200F5A93AA35A2E9F1B