Cameroon Reinstates Vice President Role

0:00On April 4, Cameroon's parliament just passed a big constitutional change, bringing back the Vice President position after more than 50 years. Lawmakers voted 218 in favor, with four abstentions, and a joint session dominated by the ruling party. The move aims to keep things stable. If President Paul Bia steps down, dies, or can't serve. The Vice President would get appointed and fired by the President, stepping in to finish out the seven-year term. But that interim leader couldn't tweak the Constitution, or run in the next election. Government folks say this locks in smooth leadership transitions. Opposition voices are fired up, calling it a power grab that centralizes control even more. They wanted a jointly elected President and Vice President to heal old divides from Cameroon's split, British, and French roots. Critics like Joshua Ocey say it skips chances for real unity amid the civil conflict raging since 2017. This is the first major rewrite since 2008, when term limits got axed, sparking protests

1:02and crackdowns. The Vice Presidency existed before, but vanished in 1972, after a referendum. President Bia has 15 days to sign an insolah, so eyes stay glued on how this plays out for stability, or more tension in the long run. That's the story for today. Global News Today, Driven by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.