Will the planet's most aged leader retain his position and woo a nation of youthful electorate?
The planet's most aged head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has pledged the nation's voters "better days are ahead" as he seeks his eighth consecutive presidential term on Sunday.
The 92-year-old has stayed in power since 1982 - an additional 7-year term could extend his reign for 50 years until he will be almost 100.
Campaign Controversies
He ignored numerous appeals to leave office and faced criticism for making merely a single campaign event, spending most of the election season on a 10-day unofficial journey to Europe.
Negative reaction concerning his use of an AI-generated election advertisement, as his challengers actively wooed supporters directly, led to his hurried travel north on his return home.
Youth Voters and Unemployment
It means that for the large portion of the citizenry, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they experienced - more than 60% of Cameroon's 30 million residents are under the age of 25.
Young advocate Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "different faces" as she thinks "prolonged leadership typically causes a sort of complacency".
"Following four decades, the population are exhausted," she states.
Youth unemployment remains a particular issue of concern for most of the contenders running in the political race.
Almost forty percent of youthful Cameroonians between 15 to 35 years are without work, with 23% of college-educated youth facing challenges in finding official jobs.
Rival Candidates
Beyond young people's job issues, the voting procedure has generated debate, notably concerning the removal of Maurice Kamto from the election contest.
The disqualification, upheld by the legal authority, was broadly condemned as a ploy to stop any strong challenge to the incumbent.
A dozen aspirants were cleared to compete for the leadership position, including Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari - both ex- Biya associates from the northern region of the nation.
Election Difficulties
In Cameroon's Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions, where a extended insurgency persists, an voting prohibition lockdown has been enforced, paralysing business activities, travel and education.
The separatists who have established it have threatened to attack anyone who participates.
Beginning in 2017, those attempting to establish a independent territory have been battling government forces.
The violence has so far resulted in at minimum 6k individuals and caused approximately half a million others from their houses.
Vote Outcome
Once polling concludes, the highest court has fifteen days to declare the results.
The government official has previously cautioned that none of the contenders is allowed to announce winning prior to official results.
"Candidates who will seek to reveal findings of the leadership vote or any unofficial win announcement in violation of the rules of the country would have broken rules and should be ready to receive consequences matching their offense."
