Will the planet's oldest leader retain his position and attract a nation of youthful voters?
The planet's most aged head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has promised Cameroon's electorate "the future holds promise" as he seeks his 8th consecutive term in office on Sunday.
The nonagenarian has already been in power for over four decades - another seven-year term could extend his reign for half a century until he will be almost a century old.
Election Controversies
He defied widespread calls to step down and drew backlash for only showing up for a single campaign event, devoting much of the political race on a ten-day unofficial journey to the European continent.
A backlash concerning his dependence on an computer-generated political commercial, as his opponents actively wooed constituents in person, saw him rush north upon his arrival.
Young Voters and Unemployment
Consequently for the large portion of the population, Biya is the only president they remember - over sixty percent of the nation's thirty million residents are younger than the quarter century mark.
Youthful advocate Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "new blood" as she thinks "longevity in power typically causes a type of complacency".
"Following four decades, the population are exhausted," she states.
Employment challenges for youth has been a particular talking point for most of the contenders running in the election.
Approximately 40% of youthful citizens aged from 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of recent graduates encountering difficulties in obtaining official jobs.
Rival Candidates
Apart from youth unemployment, the electoral process has also stirred dispute, especially with the exclusion of Maurice Kamto from the election contest.
The removal, confirmed by the legal authority, was broadly condemned as a tactic to block any significant opposition to the current leader.
12 candidates were authorized to compete for the presidency, featuring Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari - both previous Biya colleagues from the northern region of the nation.
Election Difficulties
Within the nation's Anglophone Northwest and South-West regions, where a protracted separatist conflict persists, an election boycott lockdown has been imposed, stopping commercial operations, travel and education.
Insurgents who have enforced it have warned to harm anyone who does vote.
Beginning in 2017, those working toward a breakaway state have been clashing with government forces.
The violence has to date resulted in at minimum 6,000 lives and caused approximately half a million others from their houses.
Election Results
Following the election, the Constitutional Council has fifteen days to announce the findings.
The security chief has earlier advised that no aspirant is allowed to declare victory in advance.
"Candidates who will attempt to declare outcomes of the leadership vote or any personal declaration of success against the laws of the nation would have broken rules and need to be prepared to encounter consequences commensurate to their offense."
