World’s oldest president could extend his rule as Cameroon votes in an election

President Paul Biya casts his ballot at the Government Bilingual primary school Bastos in Yaounde, Cameroon, Saturday, Oct. 12, 202.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Cameroon voted in an election Sunday that could see Africa’s oldest leader extend his rule by another seven years.

Analysts have predicted a victory for President Paul Biya. Now 92, he would be 99 by the time his term finishes. He first came to power in 1982 following the resignation of Cameroon’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and has ruled the country since then. Biya was declared the winner of seven subsequent elections. Cameroon has seen just two leaders since independence in 1960.

However, cracks may be appearing in Biya’s image.

His health has routinely been a topic of speculation as he spends most of his time in Europe, leaving day-to-day governing to key party officials and family members.

Dr. Benjamin Akih, an activist and professor at Syracuse University, believes that the opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary may win due to Biya’s age and his long track record of running Cameroon.

“⁠I think this election is different. Mr. Biya was the weakest candidate the CPDM could put forward on account of his age and the poor state of the country after his 43 years in power," he said.

“In the face of increasingly difficult international environment, the challenges facing us are more and more pressing,” Biya said in announcing another run. “In such a situation, I cannot shirk my mission.”

Biya faces nine opposition candidates, including some former allies and appointees. They include Bello Bouba Maigari, who was minister for tourism, and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who until recently served as the minister of employment.

Biya voted at a primary school in the capital Yaounde, telling reporters that he wouldn’t comment on his plans until the results were in.

Results are expected at the latest by Oct. 26.

Joshua Osih, an opposition candidate for president for the Social Democratic Front and a member of parliament who came fourth in the 2018 election, told The Associated Press his party was worried about voter fraud but stressed that the process of counting the votes will be long.

“There is still a lot of room for progress to make things smoother. Unfortunately, the bottlenecks as we usually say are the multiple ballots instead of single ballots and also the fact that the process is really cumbersome,” said Osih. “The system makes it such that the elections cannot be free and fair, that we know.”

There is a single round of voting in Cameroon and whoever gets the most votes is the winner.

Cheukam Ginette, a 34-year-old environmentalist and first-time voter, said she won’t choose Biya.

“Things have to change. First of all, life is expensive, getting medical care is not easy,” she said outside of a polling station in Yaounde. ”There are no roads, we have potholes everywhere. Everything is ruined. That’s why I voted for the opposition. I do not have confidence in the electoral process because we know our country but I’m hopeful.”

At a campaign rally last week in the northern city of Maroua, Biya promised change for one of Cameroon’s poorest areas. The predominantly Muslim north accounts for nearly 20% of the eligible voters, and Maigari and Bakary command strong followings there.

Cameroon faces escalating security crises. In the western region, a secessionist war is being fought between mainly English-speaking separatists who claim they are marginalized by the French-speaking majority, and government forces. In the north, the Boko Haram insurgency spills over from neighboring Nigeria, with armed groups routinely attacking border towns.

At least 43% of the population live in poverty as measured by core living standards such as income, education and health, according to U.N. estimates.

Around 8 million voters, including over 34,000 overseas, are eligible to vote at more than 31,000 polling stations in the Central African nation. Cameroon has a population of over 29 million people, a majority overwhelmingly young.

McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Nalova Akua And Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press