Financing Activities of Political Parties: Clearly Outlined Legal Dispositions

Political parties are a very important actors in the democracy process of every country, Cameroon inclusive. They are strategic actors in the electoral process, and elections require financing. It is in this regard that authorities established legal dispositions to guide the financing of activities of political parties in the country. Sections 279 to 287 of the Electoral Code largely talks about the public funding of political parties. In simple terms, it is the contribution of the State to the apt functioning of political parties. Referred to as a subsidy and made available on a yearly basis, the money provided by the State is intended to cover inter alia; recurrent administrative expenses, the dissemination of a party’s political programme, coordinating political activities of members and preparing for elections. “The subsidy shall be divided into two equal parts. The first to be allocated to political parties represented in the National Assembly, Senate, Regional and or Municipal Council. The second to be allocated to political parties in accordance with the results of the last election of Members of Parliament, Senators and or Regional and Municipal Councillors,” stipulates Section 281 of the aforementioned Code. On the financing of campaigns, the law states that the State shall contribute to the funding of election campaigns by defraying some expenses of political parties or candidates. The finance law for each election year contains such expenses. That means the finance law for 2025, adopted during the 2024 November session of Parliament, took into consideration the funding that would be provided to candidates during this year’s Presidential election. In this regard, the Electoral Code clearly says State funding for the Presidential...