Following contentious constitutional amendments supported by the parliament, Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, is scheduled to appoint a vice president for the first time in his four decades in office.

The bill was passed by lawmakers in a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate, which are controlled by the ruling party. The vote was 200 to 18, with four abstentions.

According to the bill, in the event that President Paul Biya passes away, resigns, or becomes incapacitated, the vice president will automatically take over as president.

Biya, ​93, has led the Central African country since 1982 and is the world’s oldest serving head of state. Public discussion about ​his health is banned.

According to the legislation, a copy of which was seen by ​Reuters, the vice president will be appointed and dismissed by the president, serving for the remainder of the president’s seven-year term.

However, the interim leader would be prohibited from initiating constitutional changes or ​running in a subsequent election.

Prior to the amendment, the constitution designated the leader of the Senate to briefly take over in case the sitting president d!es or is incapacitated. An election would then be held.

The Social Democratic Front (SDF) party, which has six representatives in parliament, boycotted the vote. It had pushed for a revision in favour of the vice-president being jointly elected with the president, rather than appointed.

The party also sought a constitutional provision that reflects the linguistic split between English and French-speaking regions. The SDF wanted the nation’s top two posts to be shared between Cameroon’s two communities, which was the position before 1972.

“This constitutional reform could have been a moment of political courage, but it is nothing less than a missed historic opportunity,” SDF chairman Joshua Osih said.