{"id":2578,"date":"2024-10-31T17:35:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/237check.org\/?p=2578"},"modified":"2024-10-31T17:47:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:47:11","slug":"not-proved-no-section-of-cameroons-constitution-limits-the-presidents-stay-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/2024\/10\/31\/not-proved-no-section-of-cameroons-constitution-limits-the-presidents-stay-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"NOT PROVED : No Section of Cameroon\u2019s Constitution Limits the President\u2019s Stay Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"
Where is Paul Biya? This remained a burning question on the lips of many Cameroonians in the months of September and October. During that period, discussions in Cameroon and abroad were centered on the whereabouts of President Paul Biya, amidst rumors that he was in a critical condition in a health facility in Europe while others alleged that he had died. The speculations were fuelled by the prolonged absence of President Paul Biya from public life at a moment when important world events needed his presence and active participation. The situation was made worse by the silence of his Civil Cabinet.In the fray, a narrative emerged, which was published by Cameroon News Agency on Facebook, according to which Section 6 of the Constitution authorizes the Constitutional Council to declare a vacancy if the President spent more than 40 days abroad. The post had over 1.8k likes, 1.3k comments, and 79 shares. The comments section went viral with derogatory reactions about Republican institutions, the Constitution, and the rule of law in Cameroon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same information was relayed on Facebook by Story Time<\/a>\u00a0 and on X by Celestin Atanga<\/a>. Though the Director of the Civil Cabinet<\/a> and the Minister of Communication<\/a> eventually issued two separate releases on October 8, debunking rumors about the death of President Biya and qualifying them as pure fantasy by mischievous individuals, both failed to address the claim that the office of the President could be declared vacant if he did not return by the 40th day. For his part, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, simply banned<\/a> all discussions on traditional and social media platforms in line with the condition of the President’s health without clarifying or debunking allegations of his possible destitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n