Cavayé Yéguié Djibril
Encyclopedia
Cavayé Yéguié Djibril is a Cameroon
ian politician who has been the President of the National Assembly of Cameroon
since 1992. He is a leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
(CPDM).
in the Far North Region, Cavayé is a member of the Mada ethnic group. He studied at the regional center for physical and sports education from 1960 to 1963 and subsequently worked as a teacher in Maroua
. He was then appointed as Interdepartmental Inspector of the Far North in 1965, and he entered the Legislative Assembly of East Cameroon in April 1970; he also became the traditional chief of the Mada in 1971. Following the creation of a unitary state
, Cavayé was elected to the National Assembly of Cameroon in 1973 and obtained the position of Questor
in the Bureau of the National Assembly. In 1975, he was included in the Central Committee of the Cameroon National Union
(CNU) ruling party.
transformed the CNU into the CPDM, Cavayé was retained as a member of the CPDM Central Committee. He served as Second Vice-President of the National Assembly for five years, departing the legislature at the end of the parliamentary term in 1988 and instead becoming Prefectoral Assistant of Diamaré
. He returned to the National Assembly in the March 1992 parliamentary election
and was then elected as President of the National Assembly.
Cavayé was re-elected to the National Assembly in the May 1997 parliamentary election
and was then re-elected for a second term as President of the National Assembly in mid-1997. After Paul Biya was re-elected in the October 1997 presidential election
amidst an opposition boycott, Cavayé said at the opening of a parliamentary session on 1 November 1997 that deputies should "respect the institutions of the Republic" and "be worthy representatives of the sovereign people", but the opposition deputies ignored his admonition and boycotted Biya's swearing-in ceremony on 3 November.
, the CPDM Political Bureau again selected Cavayé as the party's candidate for the post of President of the National Assembly. He was then re-elected in August 2002; there were no other candidates for the position, and Cavayé received 132 votes in favor and 27 against, while four deputies abstained from the vote. In November 2005, he urged deputies to take an active role in the fight against corruption.
Explaining his decision to run again in the July 2007 parliamentary election
, Cavayé said that he was passionate about his parliamentary duties and that he wanted to "help President Paul Biya honour his electoral pledge of major changes to the Cameroonian people during the 2004 presidential polls". Cavayé was again re-elected to the National Assembly as a CPDM candidate in the Mayo-Sava Constituency of Far North Province.
Following the 2007 election, CPDM Parliamentary Group President Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba
presented Cavayé as the party's candidate for another term as President of the National Assembly on 31 August 2007; the vote was considered a mere formality, as Cavayé was President Biya's choice for the position. However, another CPDM Deputy, Adama Modi, caused a stir by presenting himself as a candidate for the position, in opposition to Cavayé. Party leaders asked Modi not to do so, but he insisted that he was within his rights and that he did not care about the consequences; ultimately he exited the chamber, refusing to participate in the vote. Cavayé sat quietly during the heated episode and did not react. As the only candidate, he was easily re-elected; he received 130 votes, with 143 deputies participating. After taking his seat as President of the National Assembly, Cavayé said that he would enforce an atmosphere of discipline in the chamber. Modi's challenge to Cavayé was considered a remarkable and severe act of indiscipline, and a CPDM disciplinary committee was subsequently formed to review Modi's conduct.
In the years following his re-election in 2007, Cavayé successively dismissed four secretaries-general of the National Assembly. In a routine vote, he was re-elected as President of the National Assembly on 4 March 2010. He was the only candidate and received 141 votes, while 16 deputies spoiled their votes.
As the traditional chief (Lamido
) of Mada, Cavayé attended the National Forum of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon in March 2010. He was designated as Honorary President of the Forum and presided over its opening and closing ceremonies. At the Forum, which resulted in the creation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon, Cavayé discussed the venerable and enduring role of traditional chiefs and stressed that they worked cooperatively with the state administration, recognizing the authority of the state's laws. Cavayé said that the National Council was not a political organization and should never act as a parallel authority alongside the state; instead, he defined the Council as an institution dedicated to cooperation, promoting traditional culture, and assisting the state administration in its work for the benefit of the population. The Council subsequently issued a statement calling on President Biya to stand for re-election in the 2011 presidential election
and vowing to support Biya's work in developing the country.
Cavayé is a member of the CPDM Political Bureau.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
ian politician who has been the President of the National Assembly of Cameroon
National Assembly of Cameroon
The National Assembly is the parliament of Cameroon. It has 180 members, elected for five-year terms in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies....
since 1992. He is a leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement is the ruling political party in Cameroon.-History:Previously known as the Cameroon National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in 1960, it was renamed in 1985...
(CPDM).
Background and early political career
Born in Mada, located in the Tokombéré arrondissement of Mayo-Sava DepartmentMayo-Sava
Mayo-Sava is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 2,736 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 348,890. The capital of the department is at Mora.-Subdivisions:...
in the Far North Region, Cavayé is a member of the Mada ethnic group. He studied at the regional center for physical and sports education from 1960 to 1963 and subsequently worked as a teacher in Maroua
Maroua
Maroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the...
. He was then appointed as Interdepartmental Inspector of the Far North in 1965, and he entered the Legislative Assembly of East Cameroon in April 1970; he also became the traditional chief of the Mada in 1971. Following the creation of a unitary state
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
, Cavayé was elected to the National Assembly of Cameroon in 1973 and obtained the position of Questor
Questor
The term Questor may refer to:*Questor Thews, a character in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series of books by Terry Brooks.*An alternate spelling of Quaestor, an ancient Roman official...
in the Bureau of the National Assembly. In 1975, he was included in the Central Committee of the Cameroon National Union
Cameroon National Union
The Cameroon National Union was Cameroon's sole legal political party until 1990...
(CNU) ruling party.
Political career in the 1980s and 1990s
After ten years in the National Assembly, Cavayé was elected as its Second Vice-President in 1983. In 1985, when President Paul BiyaPaul Biya
Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...
transformed the CNU into the CPDM, Cavayé was retained as a member of the CPDM Central Committee. He served as Second Vice-President of the National Assembly for five years, departing the legislature at the end of the parliamentary term in 1988 and instead becoming Prefectoral Assistant of Diamaré
Diamaré
Diamaré is a department of Far North Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,665 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 642,227...
. He returned to the National Assembly in the March 1992 parliamentary election
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 1992
Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 1 March 1992. They were first multi-party elections for the National Assembly since 1964, although they were boycotted by the Social Democratic Front and the Cameroon Democratic Union. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's...
and was then elected as President of the National Assembly.
Cavayé was re-elected to the National Assembly in the May 1997 parliamentary election
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 1997
Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 17 May 1997. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, which won 116 of the 180 seats, including seven constituencies in which the result had originally been cancelled by the Supreme Court due to serious...
and was then re-elected for a second term as President of the National Assembly in mid-1997. After Paul Biya was re-elected in the October 1997 presidential election
Cameroonian presidential election, 1997
Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 12 October 1997. They were boycotted by the main opposition parties, the Social Democratic Front, the National Union for Democracy and Progress, and the Cameroon Democratic Union, as well as the smaller African Peoples Union. As a result incumbent...
amidst an opposition boycott, Cavayé said at the opening of a parliamentary session on 1 November 1997 that deputies should "respect the institutions of the Republic" and "be worthy representatives of the sovereign people", but the opposition deputies ignored his admonition and boycotted Biya's swearing-in ceremony on 3 November.
Political career since 2000
At the opening of a parliamentary session on 8 November 2001, Cavayé strongly criticized secessionist tendencies among the Anglophone population, saying that secessionism threatened national stability and that the National Assembly would not tolerate it. Following the 2002 parliamentary electionCameroonian parliamentary election, 2002
Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 30 June 2002. The result was a victory for the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, which won 149 of the 180 seats. In 17 constituencies the result was cancelled by the Supreme Court due to irregularities and the election re-run on 15...
, the CPDM Political Bureau again selected Cavayé as the party's candidate for the post of President of the National Assembly. He was then re-elected in August 2002; there were no other candidates for the position, and Cavayé received 132 votes in favor and 27 against, while four deputies abstained from the vote. In November 2005, he urged deputies to take an active role in the fight against corruption.
Explaining his decision to run again in the July 2007 parliamentary election
Cameroonian parliamentary election, 2007
A parliamentary election was held in Cameroon on 22 July 2007, with some polls held again on 30 September 2007. 1,274 candidates stood for the 180 seats in the National Assembly, with 41 parties participating...
, Cavayé said that he was passionate about his parliamentary duties and that he wanted to "help President Paul Biya honour his electoral pledge of major changes to the Cameroonian people during the 2004 presidential polls". Cavayé was again re-elected to the National Assembly as a CPDM candidate in the Mayo-Sava Constituency of Far North Province.
Following the 2007 election, CPDM Parliamentary Group President Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba
Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba
Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba is a Cameroonian politician. He was President of the Parliamentary Group of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement in the National Assembly of Cameroon from 1992 to 1997 and he has held that post again since 2002....
presented Cavayé as the party's candidate for another term as President of the National Assembly on 31 August 2007; the vote was considered a mere formality, as Cavayé was President Biya's choice for the position. However, another CPDM Deputy, Adama Modi, caused a stir by presenting himself as a candidate for the position, in opposition to Cavayé. Party leaders asked Modi not to do so, but he insisted that he was within his rights and that he did not care about the consequences; ultimately he exited the chamber, refusing to participate in the vote. Cavayé sat quietly during the heated episode and did not react. As the only candidate, he was easily re-elected; he received 130 votes, with 143 deputies participating. After taking his seat as President of the National Assembly, Cavayé said that he would enforce an atmosphere of discipline in the chamber. Modi's challenge to Cavayé was considered a remarkable and severe act of indiscipline, and a CPDM disciplinary committee was subsequently formed to review Modi's conduct.
In the years following his re-election in 2007, Cavayé successively dismissed four secretaries-general of the National Assembly. In a routine vote, he was re-elected as President of the National Assembly on 4 March 2010. He was the only candidate and received 141 votes, while 16 deputies spoiled their votes.
As the traditional chief (Lamido
Lamido
Lamido is the Anglicisation of a term from the Fula language or Fulfulde, used to refer to a ruler. In the language it is properly laamiiɗo , derived from the verbal root "laam-" meaning "to rule or to lead", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader"...
) of Mada, Cavayé attended the National Forum of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon in March 2010. He was designated as Honorary President of the Forum and presided over its opening and closing ceremonies. At the Forum, which resulted in the creation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon, Cavayé discussed the venerable and enduring role of traditional chiefs and stressed that they worked cooperatively with the state administration, recognizing the authority of the state's laws. Cavayé said that the National Council was not a political organization and should never act as a parallel authority alongside the state; instead, he defined the Council as an institution dedicated to cooperation, promoting traditional culture, and assisting the state administration in its work for the benefit of the population. The Council subsequently issued a statement calling on President Biya to stand for re-election in the 2011 presidential election
Cameroonian presidential election, 2011
A presidential election was held in Cameroon on 9 October 2011. President Paul Biya stood for another term; he was able to do so due to a constitutional amendment, passed in 2008, that eliminated term limits...
and vowing to support Biya's work in developing the country.
Cavayé is a member of the CPDM Political Bureau.