Can the world's most aged president keep his position and attract a country of young voters?
This world's most aged leader - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has assured Cameroon's electorate "better days are ahead" as he pursues his eighth straight term in office on Sunday.
The elderly leader has stayed in office since 1982 - another 7-year mandate could keep him in power for 50 years reaching almost a century old.
Election Issues
He resisted numerous appeals to resign and faced criticism for making merely one rally, spending most of the election season on a week-and-a-half personal visit to Europe.
Criticism concerning his reliance on an AI-generated political commercial, as his rivals actively wooed voters in person, saw him rush to the northern region after coming back.
Young Voters and Unemployment
This indicates for the vast majority of the people, Biya remains the sole leader they have known - more than 60% of the nation's 30 million inhabitants are under the 25 years old.
Youthful campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "fresh leadership" as she believes "extended rule inevitably leads to a type of laziness".
"Following four decades, the population are exhausted," she says.
Young people's joblessness has become a notable talking point for most of the candidates running in the political race.
Approximately forty percent of youthful Cameroonians aged from 15 and 35 are jobless, with 23% of young graduates experiencing problems in securing formal employment.
Rival Contenders
Apart from youth unemployment, the voting procedure has generated controversy, especially with the disqualification of an opposition leader from the presidential race.
The disqualification, confirmed by the legal authority, was widely criticised as a strategy to prevent any serious competition to the current leader.
12 aspirants were cleared to vie for the leadership position, comprising a former minister and Bello Bouba Maigari - each previous Biya colleagues from the north of the nation.
Voting Challenges
In Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and South-West areas, where a protracted rebellion continues, an election boycott lockdown has been established, paralysing economic functions, movement and education.
Rebel groups who have established it have warned to attack people who casts a ballot.
Starting four years ago, those seeking to create a independent territory have been battling state security.
The violence has until now killed at least 6,000 lives and forced nearly half a million others from their residences.
Vote Outcome
After Sunday's vote, the Constitutional Council has 15 days to declare the results.
The government official has already warned that none of the contenders is permitted to declare victory prior to official results.
"Candidates who will seek to declare outcomes of the political race or any unofficial win announcement against the regulations of the republic would have violated boundaries and must prepare to face retaliatory measures matching their offense."
