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1 [1] (February 23, 2017)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthzzafv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressional FWsearch Service I ~forr j th legislative debate s 'ice 19 4 February 23, 2017 Cameroon Overview Cameroon is a diverse, resource-rich country on the Gulf of Guinea coast of West/Central Africa. President Paul Biya (84), one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, has cultivated a low profile internationally and a reputation for stable, albeit semi-authoritarian rule. Biya appears to retain broad control over the ruling party, military, and economic patronage networks, but has no clear successor. His age and reportedly poor health have spurred concerns about a potential future power struggle should he die or become incapacitated in office. The next presidential election is due in 2018; Biya has yet to confirm whether he will run. Some analysts question whether Cameroon's stability can be maintained amid domestic strains and regional security threats. The country's centralized political system may be poorly equipped to respond to grievances and a sense of neglect among communities in the remote, impoverished north-where the Nigerian-origin Islamist extremist group Boko Haram is active-or the more commercially dynamic west, where recent protests by members of the minority Anglophone community are a sign of wider popular discontent. (France and the United Kingdom each colonized parts of Cameroon, and both French and English are official languages.) High unemployment and poverty, along with reportedly rampant corruption, have fueled popular frustrations. Other challenges include wildlife trafficking, maritime piracy, and the influx of nearly 350,000 refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR). Bilateral ties are cordial, albeit periodically affected by U.S. concerns over human rights and political freedoms. The State Department refers to Cameroon as a partner in addressing issues of democracy, regional security, environmental protection, public health, and economic development. Cameroon also hosts some 300 U.S. military personnel engaged in regional surveillance operations. Congress appropriates and oversees U.S. aid, including substantial counterterrorism assistance. Politics President Biya has held office since 1982. Since the advent of multiparty politics in the 1990s, Biya has won four elections (most recently in 2011), each of which featured reports of fraud, allegedly biased electoral institutions, street violence, and/or boycotts. The political system endows the head of state with strong executive powers, including the ability to appoint and dismiss the prime minister, cabinet, judges, generals, and regional governors. Constitutional amendments in 2008 abolished presidential term limits and granted the president immunity from prosecution if he leaves office. Large protests the same year, motivated by opposition to the constitutional changes as well as pocketbook issues, were violently suppressed. Figure I. Cameroon at a Glance Source: CRS graphic. Basemap by Hannah Fischer, data from Esri (2013). Fact information from CIA World Factbook, IMF (2016). Biya's party, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM, or RDPC after its French acronym), dominates national politics and won 148 of 180 seats in the directly-elected National Assembly in 2013 elections. It also holds a large majority in the Senate, whose members are either indirectly elected or appointed by the president. Numerous other parties compete in elections and the local press is diverse, but opposition activism is constrained by often subtle restrictions on the media and political freedoms. The largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), played a major role in the advent of multiparty politics in the 1990s, but it has won a smaller share of the vote in each subsequent election. Its base is in the predominantly Anglophone west, and support appears partly driven by historic strains between Francophone and Anglophone parts of the country. Such tensions erupted in late 2016, when escalating protests against the perceived marginalization of the Anglophone community (some 20% of the population) prompted a heavy-handed government response. Human rights groups have decried the crackdown, in which authorities have reportedly killed at least four protesters, arrested hundreds more, banned major Anglophone activist groups, and cut internet service to the region. Several prominent activists face charges under a controversial anti-terrorism law; if found guilty, they could reportedly face the death penalty. The State Department's human rights report for 2015 stated that the government harassed journalists, restricted freedoms of speech and press, and impeded freedom of movement [and...] assembly. Such freedoms are nominally guaranteed but restricted in practice through expansive libel laws and selective enforcement of a law requiring organizers of public gatherings to notify officials in advance. The report also stated that corruption was pervasive at all levels of government. www.crs.gov 1 7-5701 0