Can this world's most aged president retain his position and attract a country of young electorate?

The planet's most aged head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has assured Cameroon's voters "better days are ahead" as he pursues his eighth consecutive presidential term this weekend.

The 92-year-old has stayed in office since 1982 - another seven-year mandate could keep him in power for half a century reaching almost a century old.

Campaign Controversies

He ignored widespread calls to step down and has been criticised for making merely a single campaign event, using the majority of the campaign period on a ten-day unofficial journey to the European continent.

Criticism concerning his dependence on an AI-generated campaign video, as his rivals actively wooed voters in person, prompted his quick return north after coming back.

Youth Population and Joblessness

It means that for the vast majority of the people, Biya is the only president they have known - over sixty percent of Cameroon's 30 million inhabitants are younger than the age of 25.

Youthful political activist Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "new blood" as she maintains "prolonged leadership inevitably leads to a sort of inertia".

"With 43 years passed, the people are weary," she says.

Youth unemployment remains a particular issue of concern for the majority of the candidates participating in the election.

Nearly forty percent of young Cameroonians aged from 15 and 35 are jobless, with 23% of recent graduates experiencing problems in securing regular work.

Opposition Contenders

In addition to young people's job issues, the voting procedure has created dispute, notably concerning the removal of Maurice Kamto from the leadership competition.

The removal, approved by the Constitutional Council, was broadly condemned as a tactic to stop any significant opposition to the incumbent.

12 candidates were approved to contest for the leadership position, including Issa Tchiroma Bakary and another former ally - both previous Biya colleagues from the northern region of the nation.

Voting Challenges

Within the nation's Anglophone North-West and South-West territories, where a long-running separatist conflict ongoing, an poll avoidance restriction has been enforced, stopping economic functions, movement and schooling.

Rebel groups who have established it have threatened to attack anyone who casts a ballot.

Since 2017, those seeking to create a breakaway state have been fighting state security.

The violence has until now resulted in at least 6,000 people and compelled nearly five hundred thousand others from their houses.

Election Results

After Sunday's vote, the highest court has 15 days to reveal the results.

The government official has earlier advised that no candidate is authorized to claim success prior to official results.

"Individuals who will try to reveal findings of the leadership vote or any self-proclaimed victory against the regulations of the republic would have broken rules and must prepare to face penalties matching their violation."