After an initial extension of 15 months, Head of State Paul Biya issued a decree on May 4, 2026, extending the extension by an additional eight months, removing the risk of holding a triple election in 2032.
The mandate of municipal councilors elected in the February 9, 2020 election is extended from June 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027, according to Decree No. 2026/166 of May 4, 2026. The presidential decree published on Monday thus adds eight months to the initial five-year mandate that the municipal councilors benefited from following their election in the February 9, 2020 polls. The mandate was set to end in 2025. However, the Head of State first extended it on July 24, 2026, by a decree that initially added 15 months to the local elected officials from February 25, 2025, to May 31, 2026.
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According to Article 170 (2) old Electoral Code, the President of the Republic could extend the mandate of municipal councilors by 18 months. A first extension of 15 months then confined him to a second extension of three months. To remove this restriction, the parliament has just passed a law that the President of the Republic promulgated. It modifies this article of the electoral code, giving the Head of State the latitude to extend the mandate of municipal councilors without limit.
The immediate effect of this new legal provision is that its promulgation is followed by the extension of the mandate of municipal councilors, thus postponing municipal elections to 2027. According to the electoral law, municipal elections are held 20 days before the expiration of the mandate of municipal councilors. The next ones, adhering to this requirement, will be held in the first ten days of February 2027, particularly on Sunday, February 7. The mandate ends on February 28, “Unless municipal elections are held during this period under the conditions prescribed by law,” specifies the decree of May 4.
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The text also gives political parties and potential candidates for these elections more time to continue refining their preparations. However, the extension will place on the 2032 electoral calendar the organization of three types of elections, namely the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections. This opens the door to an extension of the mandate of municipal councilors who are not even yet elected on the eve of the presidential election, as was the case on the eve of the October 7, 2018 presidential election and the October 12, 2025 presidential election. Boycott supporters therefore have to be careful by making good calculations to avoid a slow political death.
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