Cameroon, in context.

The President is the dominant constitutional executive authority, appointing the Prime Minister and other members of government and exercising major powers over administration, defence and appointments. The Prime Minister coordinates government action under presidential authority.

Parliament is bicameral. The National Assembly is directly elected, while the Senate represents regional and local authorities through a combination of elected and presidentially appointed senators. Both chambers participate in legislation, although the Constitution gives the executive a strong role in the legislative process.

The Constitutional Council reviews constitutionality and has important responsibilities for presidential and parliamentary elections and referendums. Cameroon remains a unitary state, but the 1996 Constitution created a decentralised regional framework intended to give elected territorial institutions a larger role.