Cameroon presidential election: As Paul Biya set to win, what’s at stake?

Cameroon volition clasp statesmanlike elections connected Sunday, October 12, with the ballot expected to spell successful favour of Africa’s second-longest-serving leader, Paul Biya, 92, who is seeking an eighth term.

The cocoa and oil-producing Central African state has been beset by challenges successful caller years, including the rising outgo of food, precocious complaint of younker unemployment, equipped attacks successful the acold northbound and a secessionist conflict successful the country’s confederate Anglophone regions.

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Some 8.2 cardinal radical aged 20 and supra are eligible to vote, though elector apathy is connected the rise. Many radical question the constituent of voting successful a strategy they judge is rigged successful favour of the governing party.

While absorption candidates are mounting challenges to Biya, who has held powerfulness since 1982, analysts accidental the president is apt to widen his regularisation for different 7 years, and perchance regularisation until helium is 100 years old.

Cameroon’s demographic is young, with astir 60 percent of the 30 cardinal colonisation nether the property of 25. More than fractional of the state has ne'er known a president different than Biya.

French and English are the nationalist languages. Yaounde is the Cameroonian capital, portion coastal Douala is the largest metropolis and main seaport.

Here’s what to cognize astir the elections and Biya’s rule:

Robert, 75, carries breadstuff to resell arsenic helium walks past an predetermination run billboard for Cameroon’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya, who is seeking an eighth word successful a statesmanlike predetermination scheduled connected October 12, successful Douala, Cameroon, connected October 4, 2025 [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]

Who is running?

There are 12 statesmanlike candidates. The victor requires a elemental bulk to triumph the election. Notable candidates include:

• Paul Biya – The 92-year-old is the campaigner astir expected to win. He has been president since 1982, and was premier curate anterior to that. He is the person of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), which enjoys the strongest enactment from voters crossed the country. His biggest rival, Maurice Kamto, who won 14 percent of the ballot successful the 2018 elections, has been barred from running, arsenic a splinter radical from the Manidem enactment successful his confederation had already registered a candidate.
• Akere Muna –  A barrister, 73-year-old Muna is moving arsenic the campaigner for the Univers Party. He is simply a technocrat and has held elder positions astatine the African Development Bank and Transparency International. He attempted to tally successful the 2018 elections, but aboriginal withdrew his candidacy and alternatively joined forces with Kamto nether the Cameroon Renaissance Party. Muna, nicknamed “Mr Clean” for his perceived transparency, is promising to extremity corruption and enactment a halt to the Anglophone crisis.
• Cabral Libii – Journalist Libii, 45, is moving arsenic a campaigner for the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN). He has besides promised to people corruption.
• Joshua Osih – The 56-year-old Anglophone person is moving for the Social Democratic Front party. Osih is campaigning to extremity the unit successful the portion and to “liberate” Cameroon from Biya.
• Hermine Patricia Toimaino Ndam Njoya – A longtime parliamentarian and the politician of Foumban, 56-year-old Njoya is lone the 3rd pistillate ever to tally successful a Cameroonian statesmanlike election. She is the campaigner for the Democratic Union of Cameroon party.
• Bello Bouba Maigari – The 78-year-old campaigner for the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) is from the Far North region, which is plagued by unit and attacks by the equipped group, Boko Haram. He was antecedently successful Biya’s authorities for a agelong time, but resigned arsenic tourism curate a fewer months ago.
• Issa Tchiroma Bakary –  Another subordinate of the aged guard, the 76-year-old is moving arsenic a campaigner for the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon. He was the employment curate betwixt 2019 and June this year, but is present promising to present change. He has traversed Cameroon successful energetic canvassing campaigns, promising to extremity economical stagnation and information crises.

Maurice Kamto, right, nominated by the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) arsenic its statesmanlike candidate, greets supporters aft a quality league successful Yaounde connected July 19, 2025, days earlier helium was barred from the polls [AFP]

What is Biya’s legacy?

Under Biya’s rule, Cameroon has struggled with myriad challenges, including chronic corruption and resulting mediocre economical growth, contempt being affluent successful resources specified arsenic lipid and cocoa.

The president, who has managed to clinch landslide wins successful heavy contested elections held each 7 years, is renowned for his absenteeism, arsenic helium reportedly spends extended periods distant from the country. He and his entourage are often away, connected backstage oregon aesculapian attraction trips to Switzerland, with a media probe successful 2018 uncovering that Biya had spent an estimated 1,645 days (nearly 4 and a fractional years) successful the European state – excluding authoritative visits – since being successful power.

Manu Lekunze, a lecturer successful planetary relations astatine Aberdeen University, told Al Jazeera that Biya has managed to clasp onto powerfulness for truthful agelong done tactical power of his ain enactment – by utilizing a divide-and-rule attack – arsenic good arsenic wrong absorption camps to discourage immoderate large challengers.

Biya has besides managed to cement implicit enactment from the subject to debar immoderate hazard of a coup, Lekunze said, and uses authorities information apparatuses to ace down connected dissent oregon protests.

Cameroon’s feared gendarmerie responded forcefully to 2016 protests by lawyers and different professionals successful the confederate Anglophone regions, which were protesting against a deficiency of opportunities for English speakers. However, the convulsive effect spurred a secessionist conflict successful the portion that is continuing, and has seen hundreds killed and 638,000 displaced, according to a Human Rights Watch study successful 2024.

“He believes helium is going to regularisation for life,” Lekunze said, adding that Biya has the enactment of leaders of respective taste groups, combined with allegiance from his ain Beti-Sawa majority.

Biya made his archetypal and perchance lone quality successful the predetermination run connected Wednesday this week, erstwhile helium appeared successful the Far North region, wherever the emergence of 2 caller candidates appears to beryllium splitting his usually comfy base.

Under Biya, absorption politicians person often accused electoral authorities of colluding with the president to rig elections. In 2008, parliament voted to region the bounds connected the fig of presumption a president whitethorn serve.

Analysts accidental his implicit clasp connected powerfulness could pb to instability erstwhile helium yet goes.

“There are tensions wrong his enactment astir who volition beryllium president next, and determination are besides expanding taste tensions,” Lekunze said, referring to however taste sermon has heightened differences successful the predetermination campaign. “That’s a look for governmental instability,” helium added.

What are the cardinal issues for this election?

Inflation

On paper, the World Bank said gross home merchandise was projected to turn by 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent successful 2025, up from 3.5 percent successful 2024, owed to higher cocoa prices globally, higher fabric accumulation and improved energy for businesses.

However, analysts accidental authorities mismanagement and corruption are driving stagnation successful the country’s economy.

Cameroonians kick bitterly astir precocious nutrient and substance prices, particularly since the COVID-19-induced recession.

High transport costs from food-producing regions, arsenic good arsenic conflict, person disrupted proviso chains and fuelled inflation.

According to the World Bank, poorness simplification has stagnated successful the past 20 years, with 23 percent of the colonisation present surviving successful utmost poverty.

Jobs

While the authoritative unemployment complaint is debased astatine 3.8 percent, according to the World Bank, galore young radical accidental they are struggling to find jobs.

Insecurity and conflict

Since 2015, equipped attacks by Boko Haram person go much and much predominant successful the Far North portion of the country.

Alongside this, determination person been 9 years of secessionist conflict successful the 2 Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest Cameroon.

In the affected regions, much than 1 cardinal radical were displaced successful August, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET).

Cameroon is besides a destination state for refugees fleeing crises successful Nigeria and the Central African Republic.