Cameroon’s 92-year-old president set for another term as country goes to polls | Cameroon

Cameroon goes to the polls for a presidential election on Sunday with Paul Biya, who at 92 is the world’s oldest head of state and the favorite to win an eighth term in power in the central African country.

There is a divided opposition of 11 candidates against Biya, who has rejected calls for his retirement despite his advanced age and deteriorating health.

“Our candidate is in very good shape… and is capable of continuing the work he started,” said Grégoire Owona, labor minister and general secretary of the ruling party. He told French radio RFI In late September.

Most of the 7.8 million Cameroonians who have the right to vote do not remember any leader other than Biya, who has held the presidency with an iron fist since 1982.

The vote comes against a backdrop of political stagnation, a cost-of-living crisis and social unrest. Opposition parties accused Cameroon’s Electoral Commission of subservience to the ruling party, and the candidacy of the most credible opposition candidate, Maurice Kamto, was blocked by the courts.

Other candidates include former ministers Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who recently left the presidential camp and has drawn thousands of people at rallies across the country, and Bello Bouba Maigari, who became Biya’s first prime minister in 1982. Observers say their individual campaigns lack the cohesion needed to mount a significant challenge to Biya’s long-standing rule.

Cameroon faces significant socioeconomic challenges; A third of the population lives on less than $2 (£1.50) a day, youth unemployment is high and many young people express frustration with the electoral process, citing a lack of economic opportunities and political representation.

Voter turnout has fallen significantly over the years, worsened by ongoing conflicts with jihadists in the Far North region and English-speaking separatists in the west.

The second crisis, which began in 2017, killed thousands and forcibly displaced more than 700,000 people in the country’s two English-speaking regions.

Kah Wallah, leader of the Cameroonian People’s Party and founder of the Stand Up For Cameroon movement, said that one of the reasons why the movement has not supported elections since 2018 is the English language crisis. “We still believe that it is unreasonable for the Biya regime to hold elections in #NOSO without ensuring the security of citizens,” he said, referring to the common acronym for the English-speaking North-West and North-West of Cameroon. Southwest regions.

The government was criticized for its heavy-handed response, which left many in English-speaking regions feeling excluded and open to boycotting the vote.

Biya, who is rarely seen in public, held his first and only campaign rally on Tuesday. Addressing a crowd of supporters at a stadium in the Far North town of Maroua, he promised to improve security in the region, reduce youth unemployment and improve road infrastructure and social amenities if re-elected.

“I am well aware of the problems that concern you, I know the unfulfilled expectations that make you doubt the future,” Biya said in his speech. “Based on my own experience, I can assure you that these problems are not insurmountable.”

There were dramatic calls for him to step aside during this year’s election cycle. First came Catholic archbishop Samuel Kleda, who appeared on French radio last Christmas to say it was “unrealistic” for Biya to keep the job. Then came the separations of Tchiroma and Maigari; both openly challenged Biya’s fitness to lead.

Finally, the president’s 27-year-old daughter, Brenda Biya, said on TikTok last month that her father “made too many people suffer” and urged Cameroonians not to vote for him. He later backtracked, but the post continues to circulate widely among Biya’s critics.

Theophile, an artist living in the economic capital Douala, called the vote a “fraud”. The 24-year-old was hoping to vote for Kamto, who came second to Biya in the 2018 elections. “As long as the system remains in place, there is nothing that can be done. There needs to be change,” he said.

Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report