At stake in this election:

• 70 seats in the Senate (Sénat)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Paul BIYA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Philemon YANG
• Assembly: Cameroon has a bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 70 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 180 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 7-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
• In the Senate (Sénat) 70 members are indirectly elected by regional governing councils*. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 90 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 90 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* Since 1972, Cameroon has had a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 180 seats. A 1996 constitutional amendment called for the establishment of a 100-seat upper house, the Senate (Sénat). The April 14, 2013 election will establish this Senate for the first time. Senators will be elected through an electoral college consisting of municipal councilors. Each region will be represented in the Senate by 10 senators, 7 of whom will be indirectly elected, and 3 will appointed by the President. Therefore 70 members will be chosen by electors from 360 local councils and the President will appoint the 30 remaining senators.

** The president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature. In the PR tier, electors cast a ballot for a party list. If a list achieves an absolute majority, they win all the seats in that district. If no list obtains an absolute majority, the one with the highest number of votes is allocated half of the seats; the remainder is allocated to the other best-placed lists through proportional representation. There is a 5 percent threshold.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM/ RDPC) / Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais
  • Leader: BIYA Paul
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Party: Social Democratic Front (SDF/FSD) / Front Social-Démocratique
• Leader: John Fru NDI
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Party: National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP) / Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès
  • Leader: Bouba Bello MAIGARI
• Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Party: Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU/UDC) / Union Démocratique du Cameroun
  • Leader: Adamu Ndam NJOYA
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 22,211,166 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 9,839 ( 2011 This figure represents the number of electors in the electoral college. As of the 2011 election, Cameroon had 7,251,651 registered voters.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 11,107,952 (2013)

·         Is Cameroon a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (6 June 1983)

·         Has Cameroon ratified CEDAW: Yes (23 August 1994)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 25 (National Assembly) (following 2007 parliamentary elections); 20 (Senate)

·         Human Development Index Position: 153 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Cameroon a signatory to CRPD: Yes (1 October 2008)

·         Has Cameroon ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 3,331,674 (est.)