The Cameroonian government on Friday tabled a controversial bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution to pave way for President Paul Biya’s re-election in 2011. The provisions of the current constitution limit the president’s tenure of office to two terms. President Biya, who came into office in November 1982 following the resignation of President Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s first president, was re-elected in 2004 for a seven-year term after his his first term, which was for five years. Biya was Prime Minister under President Ahidjo. MPs of the main Cameroonian opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), tried in vain to block Parliament’s sessions. President Biya’s party, the Cameroonian People’s Democratic Rally (RDPC), has a large majority in the parliament, commanding 163 out of the 180 seats. Panapress.
