Coulisse

The ordinary session as of right of the Senate for the second legislative period opened in Yaounde on April 24, 2018.

The 100 Senators of the second legislative period prayed and looked for the day their terms will begin. The day came yesterday, April 24, 2018, the third Tuesday after the proclamation of the results of senatorial election of March 25, 2018.

Indeed it was the opening of the ordinary session as of right during which their mandates will be verified at the level of the Senate, adopted, their attributes as Senators served and the permanent bureau elected.

The opening plenary sitting of the ordinary session as of right was indeed a discovery moment and the first step in the school of legislative activities, especially for the 39 new Senators. The entire House listened to the chairperson of the provisional bureau, the eldest Senator, Nfon Mukete Essimi Ngo Victor chair of the session.

There was dead silence when he read out the results for the election of the 70 Senators as transmitted by the Constitutional Council and the decree of the President of the Republic Paul Biya appointing the 30 others.

The dead silence continued until to the surprise of all, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Senator from the North West Region Kemende Henry Gamsey raised a motion. Once on the rostrum he questioned the constitution of the provisional bureau running the affairs of the Senate.

He had no problem with the fact that Lekunze Nembo is the youngest Senator but said the other youngest Senator, Aboui Marlyse was indeed not in her right position.

He said Aboui Marlyse born in 1973 with no specification on the date, was the youngest Senator in the first legislative period and should be 45 years by now. Kemende Henry argued that there was another Senator who was not yet 45 years who ought to have replaced Aboui Marlyse.

His second preliminary objection was that the chairperson of the provisional bureau was still the board chair of CAMTEL. Citing the Sections of the Electoral Code and the Standing Orders of the Senate, he said the two positions were incompatible, calling on Nfon Mukete to resign from one of them.

The NUDP Senator, Pierre Flambeau Ngayap took to the rostrum and said the Verification Boards to be set up in Senate to scrutinize the files of Senators was the body to make declarations on case of incompatibility and the opening plenary sitting was not the moment. As such, he proposed the opening session could continue unperturbed.

The new Senators also had another discovery being the reception offered after the plenary sitting that served as an opportunity for sharing and creating contacts. The relatives of the Senators lived the opening plenary and rejoiced with them. Media practitioners on their part rushed after Senators to get their reactions, while dance groups provided animation.