Cameroonians head to polls as President Biya seeks 8th term

By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Cameroonians are voting Sunday in a presidential election that could extend incumbent President Paul Biya’s decades-long rule as he faces a fragmented opposition.

Starting at 8 am local time (0700GMT), voting will continue until 6 pm (1700GMT).

Biya, 92, the Central African nation’s second president and the world’s oldest and longest-serving elected head of state, has been in power since 1982.

He won an uncontested election following the resignation of the country’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Having won Cameroon’s first multiparty election in 1992 and four subsequent elections since, Biya benefited from a 2008 constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits, allowing multiple seven-year terms.

In the most recent election in 2018, Biya secured 71.28% of the vote, according to official results.

Among Biya’s challengers are former allies, including Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the former employment and vocational training minister, and Bello Bouba Maigari, the current tourism and leisure minister.

More than 8 million Cameroonians are eligible to vote in the presidential election, according to the Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) electoral body.

A candidate with the most votes wins the presidential poll, as no absolute majority is required.

The country’s parliamentary and local elections, initially due in 2025, were postponed by lawmakers until 2026 after Biya’s ruling party approved a one-year extension of their mandate.