Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president, is seeking to extend his 42-year rule of Cameroon.
Voters in Cameroon, in Central Africa, will go to the polls on Sunday. Absent from the ballot is Maurice Kamto, Mr. Biya’s main opponent, who was barred from running by the country’s electoral board.
Analysts said the vote would be the most consequential in the country’s recent history. Living conditions have plummeted as the prices of fuel and other basic goods have increased.
Mr. Biya, 92, promised that if re-elected, he would fix the economy, take on youth unemployment and address poverty. “I will never resign myself to the current situation,” he said at a rally on Tuesday. “Certainly, much has already been done. But I can assure you that the best is still to come.”
But his tight grip on power may be waning. An unexpectedly spirited opposition led by former allies and young voters has taken root in recent months, inspired by a wave of Gen Z uprisings in Africa and around the world.
What’s the state of the race?
Mr. Kamto was barred from the ballot after the electoral commission controversially delayed a parliamentary election until next year. That decision left Mr. Kamto’s party with no seats, making him ineligible to run for president.
He tried to run under a different party, but the commission rejected him.
Mr. Biya appeared to be on course for another easy victory until Issa Tchiroma Bakary, his former spokesman and minister of employment, resigned from the government in June and began his own campaign. Mr. Bakary comes from the north, a traditional stronghold for Mr. Biya that represents a huge segment of the electorate.
Bello Bouba Maigari, who was in charge of tourism until recently, is also running for president.
Mr. Biya is still widely seen as the favorite. His supporters say his age is not an issue, though he would be 99 years old by the end of his next seven-year term. Chuo Walters, a lawyer and professor at the University of Bertoua who favors Mr. Biya, said the president “can think a thousand times faster than a 25- or 30-year-old.”
Most analysts say elections in Cameroon are rigged in favor of keeping Mr. Biya in power. “The institutions are designed to ensure he wins,” said Hubert Kinkoh, a political and security analyst. Opponents accuse Mr. Biya of using his authority to intimidate the opposition and to control the courts and electoral commission.
The youth vote
Critics say Mr. Biya’s age and lack of a clear succession plan have created a leadership vacuum, gutted the economy and galvanized young people into political activism.
“Young people here see Gen Z revolutions in countries like Kenya,” said Ngala Desmond Ngala, a Cameroonian youth activist. “They’re looking at what’s happening in these countries and looking at theirs and are saying, ‘Why can’t we even lead something like that in Cameroon?’”
Last month, the president’s 27-year-old daughter, Brenda Biya, told young people on social media, “Don’t vote for my dad,” accusing him of making “too many people suffer.” She has since walked back her statement and apologized.
“The average Cameroonian sits between the ages of around 17 to almost 40,” Mr. Ngala said. “The president has been in power for 40-plus years. So there’s a generational disconnect between the president and the young people.”
“You could feel that, for the first time, change of government is possible through the ballots,” Mr. Kinkoh said, “because there is a whole new generation of voters who are more critical and are not swayed by party affiliations.”
What’s at stake?
Roughly one in every four Cameroonians is at risk of slipping into extreme poverty in the next 15 months, according to the World Bank. In several parts of the country, attacks by separatists and insurgents are frequent.
Cameroon has two official languages, French and English, but the English-speaking western regions along the border with Nigeria have been trapped in a decade-old separatist conflict.
When Mr. Bakary held a campaign rally in the town of Bamenda in Cameroon’s northwest region, he promised to release separatist fighters if elected.
In the far north, where Mr. Biya had his only political rally during the campaign, violence has also ramped up as Boko Haram, a jihadist group with origins in Nigeria, kills and kidnaps civilians.
Election details
Polls will open at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, and close at 6 p.m. It can take up to 15 days to declare a winner.
Ndi Eugene Ndi contributed reporting from Cameroon.
Saikou Jammeh is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Dakar, Senegal.
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