ACHPR/37/OS/11/437 5 $607 (455,250 CFA francs). Around 50% of the population is estimated to live under the poverty level. (2001 est.) Political History The first inhabitants of Cameroon were the pygmy Baka tribes and the first European contact was in the 16th Century with the Portuguese who didn’t, however, stay long. The earliest permanent settlements were started in the late 1870s, with Germany emerging as the major European Power. Cameroon remained under German protectorate until 1919 immediately after the end of the First World War, when the latter’s military occupation was brought to an end. It did not, however, attain independence until 1960 as it was put, at the end of the First World War, under the mandate of British and French administration following the division by the League of Nations in 1922. The French had control over four-fifths of the territory (French Cameroon) while the British controlled the remaining one-fifth (the Northern and Southern Cameroon). At independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo, the leader of the Union Camerounaise and who had served as prime minister since 1958, was elected as the country’s first president. In 1961, there was held a referendum in which Southern Cameroonians voted in favour of union with the Repblic of Cameroon, while northern Cameroonians voted to merge with Nigeria. Despite this, the present Republic of Cameroon comprises of two states: East Cameroon (comprising the former French zone) and West Cameroon (comprising the former British portion). After the merging, in 1966, of the dominant parties in the two areas, i.e. Union Camerounaise and the Cameroon National Democratic Party, forming the Union Nationale Camerounaise (UNC), the president at independence, Mr. Ahidjo, was re-elected president of the Republic. A new Constitution was promulgated in 1972 abolishing all separate state institutions and providing for a strong executive president, a national executive council of ministers responsible for the president, a unicameral national assembly and a fully centralised administration. Three years later, Ahidjo was again re-elected president. He appointed Paul Biya as the Prime Minister. In spite of the alleged autocratic rule under Ahidjo, the latter was reelected for a further five-years term. He, however, resigned in 1982, transferring the presidency to Paul Biya. In 1985, the UNC was renamed the Rassemblement démocratique pour le peuple camerounais (RDPC), with President Paul Biya getting re-elected in 1988, 1992, and 1997. The Constitution was amended in 1980 providing for the establishment of a multi-party system and the first multi-party legislative elections were held in 1992. The main political parties include: the Rassemblement démocratique du peuple camerounais (RDPC) which is chaired by President Paul Biya, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the Union national pour la démocratie et le progrès (UNDP), the Union des populations camerounaises (UPC), the Union démocratique du Cameroun (UDC), and the Mouvement pour la défense de la République (MDR).