🔗 Share this article

This world's most aged leader - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has assured the nation's voters "better days are ahead" as he seeks his 8th straight presidential term on Sunday.

The 92-year-old has already been in office for over four decades - an additional seven-year mandate could keep him in power for 50 years making him almost 100.

Campaign Controversies

He defied broad demands to resign and faced criticism for only showing up for one rally, using the majority of the political race on a ten-day private trip to Europe.

Criticism over his reliance on an computer-generated political commercial, as his rivals actively wooed voters on the ground, prompted his quick return to the northern region after coming back.

Young Voters and Unemployment

This indicates for the great bulk of the citizenry, Biya is the only president they experienced - above sixty percent of Cameroon's 30 million residents are younger than the age of 25.

Youthful campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "different faces" as she believes "longevity in power typically causes a sort of complacency".

"After 43 years, the people are tired," she states.

Employment challenges for youth has been a notable discussion topic for nearly all the candidates competing in the election.

Almost forty percent of youthful citizens between 15 to 35 years are jobless, with twenty-three percent of young graduates encountering difficulties in securing regular work.

Opposition Candidates

Apart from youth unemployment, the election system has generated dispute, particularly regarding the disqualification of Maurice Kamto from the election contest.

His exclusion, upheld by the Constitutional Council, was widely criticised as a strategy to prevent any strong challenge to the incumbent.

Twelve aspirants were cleared to compete for the country's top job, featuring a former minister and Bello Bouba Maigari - each former Biya allies from the north of the nation.

Voting Challenges

In Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest territories, where a long-running separatist conflict persists, an voting prohibition lockdown has been imposed, paralysing economic functions, transport and schooling.

Rebel groups who have established it have promised to target anyone who participates.

Beginning in 2017, those seeking to create a independent territory have been clashing with government forces.

The conflict has so far resulted in at least 6k lives and compelled almost half a million others from their houses.

Election Results

Following the election, the Constitutional Council has fifteen days to reveal the findings.

The security chief has earlier advised that none of the contenders is permitted to claim success in advance.

"Those who will seek to reveal findings of the political race or any self-proclaimed victory contrary to the rules of the nation would have violated boundaries and should be ready to encounter retaliatory measures commensurate to their offense."