{"id":3146,"date":"2026-11-11T09:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/237check.org\/?p=3146"},"modified":"2026-11-13T09:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:48:34","slug":"false-naso-news-misleads-on-cameroons-2027-twin-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/2026\/11\/11\/false-naso-news-misleads-on-cameroons-2027-twin-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"FALSE: NASO News Misleads on Cameroon\u2019s 2027 Twin Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On October 13, 2026, NASO News<\/a> published a claim on Facebook that \u201cNo Twin Elections in Cameroon in 2027\u201d, citing a presidential Circular<\/a> on the preparation of the 2027 State Budget. The publication suggested that the absence of a specific budget allocation for the elections in the circular meant they would not take place. As of November 12, 2026, the post had attracted 76 reactions, 22 comments and two reshares, with several commenters expressing indifference towards the elections, arguing that they would make little difference to their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NASO<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CONTEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Municipal and legislative elections, jointly organised as twin elections since June 30, 2002, were last held on February 9, 2020, for a five-year term. Since 2024, however, the mandates of elected officials have been extended twice, with the government citing financial constraints<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2026, the mandate of Members of Parliament was extended<\/a> from March 31 to December 20, 2026. The following month, Law No. 2026\/003 of April 14, 2026, was promulgated<\/a>, amending Section 170(2) of the Electoral Code. The amendment removed the previous 18-month limit on the President\u2019s power to extend or shorten the tenure of municipal councillors, effectively allowing extensions without a specified statutory time limit. In May 2026, their mandates were subsequently extended<\/a> from June 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These repeated extensions, coupled with the absence of an initially announced election date, fuelled uncertainty about when, or even whether, the twin elections would take place. Speculation spread across media and political circles, creating room for unverified claims to gain traction. In a country where political participation remains low and fragile<\/a>, misleading narratives about the electoral calendar risk deepening public distrust, reinforcing political apathy and undermining confidence in democratic institutions. As research on trust in democratic institutions suggests, misinformation and uncertainty can further erode public trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VERIFICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To verify the claim, \u201cNo twin elections in Cameroon in 2027,\u201d we consulted the legal framework governing elections and election financing in Cameroon, as well as the scope of budget orientation circulars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Section 30 of the Law establishing and laying down the organisation and functioning of Elections Cameroon<\/a> (ELECAM), \u201cThe draft annual budget of Elections Cameroon as well as the draft elections budget shall be prepared by the director general of elections and approved by the electoral board. The chairperson of the electoral board shall submit the said draft budgets to the government for consideration and table before parliament for adoption as part of the Finance law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During its third ordinary session<\/a> for 2026, the electoral Board of ELECAM reviewed the preliminary draft budgets of Elections Cameroon and the special allocation for the Electoral Board for the 2027 financial year, as well as the proposed budgets for the forthcoming legislative and municipal elections, according to Cameroon Tribune<\/a> and Mutations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, successive budget orientation circulars, including those providing budgetary guidance for the 2013<\/a> and 2020 financial years<\/a>, did not mention elections. Yet, legislative and municipal elections were held in both years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reviewed the 24-page Circular No. 001 of October 12, 2026<\/a>, Relating to the Preparation of the 2027 State Budget, which NASO News<\/a> described as a 10-page document. The circular clarifies that its scope is to \u201cpresent the macroeconomic context, set the priority objectives of public action, the overall budget policy guidelines, as well as the practical arrangements for preparing the State budget for the 2027 financial year.\u201d Nothing in the scope of the circular makes it a substitute for the Electoral Code or the law governing Elections Cameroon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary Law<\/a> governing the organisation and management of elections in Cameroon, the 2012 Electoral Code, specifies in Section 86(1) that \u201cthe electorate shall be convened by a decree of the President of the Republic.\u201d Section 169(3) of the Electoral Code provides that municipal elections must take place no later than 20 days before the expiry of the mandate of municipal councillors. Article 15 of the Constitution provides that elections for a new National Assembly must take place at least 40 days and no more than 120 days after the expiry of an extension of its mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 9, 2026, President Paul Biya convened<\/a> for Sunday, February 7, 2027, the electorate for the parliamentary and legislative elections often referred to as twin elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VERDICT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FALSE.<\/strong> The claim that Cameroon\u2019s 2027 twin elections will not take place is contradicted by official evidence. The absence of election-specific allocations in the October 12, 2026, budget orientation circular does not establish that the elections have been cancelled or postponed. The circular provides general guidelines for preparing the 2027 State Budget and is not the legal instrument that determines whether elections will be held. Under Section 86(1) of Cameroon\u2019s Electoral Code, the electorate is convened by a presidential decree. More decisively, on November 9, 2026, President Paul Biya signed a decree convening the electorate for February 7, 2027, for the legislative and municipal elections. Although previous extensions of elected officials\u2019 mandates had fuelled uncertainty about the electoral calendar, the November 9 decree provides official confirmation of the scheduled polls. Therefore, NASO News\u2019 claim that there would be no twin elections in 2027 is false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fact-check was conducted by Njukang Princeley under the mentorship and editorial supervision of Mbuh Stella. It is published by<\/em><\/strong> 237check.org<\/em><\/strong><\/a> as part of the Africa Fact-Checking Fellowship programme, implemented by Civic Watch.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 13, 2026, NASO News published a claim on Facebook that \u201cNo Twin Elections in Cameroon in 2027\u201d, citing a presidential Circular on the preparation of the 2027 State Budget. The publication suggested that the absence of a specific budget allocation for the elections in the circular meant they would not take place. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-affcameroon","category-factchecked-report","category-viral-content"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured.jpg",1080,540,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured.jpg",1080,540,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured.jpg",1080,540,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"medium":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured-300x150.jpg",300,150,true],"large":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured-1030x515.jpg",800,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured.jpg",1080,540,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured.jpg",1080,540,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/237check.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/237check-naso-featured-18x9.jpg",18,9,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"#AFFCameroon<\/a> Factchecked Reports<\/a> Viral Content<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"On October 13, 2026, NASO News published a claim on Facebook that \u201cNo Twin Elections in Cameroon in 2027\u201d, citing a presidential Circular on the preparation of the 2027 State Budget. The publication suggested that the absence of a specific budget allocation for the elections in the circular meant they would not take place. As\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3150,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3146\/revisions\/3150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}