Will this world's most aged leader retain his position and woo a country of young voters?

This planet's oldest head of state - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has promised the nation's electorate "better days are ahead" as he pursues his 8th straight presidential term on Sunday.

The elderly leader has already been in office since 1982 - another seven-year mandate could see him rule for half a century reaching almost 100.

Election Controversies

He resisted numerous appeals to resign and faced criticism for attending just one public appearance, using the majority of the campaign period on a week-and-a-half private trip to Europe.

Criticism over his reliance on an AI-generated campaign video, as his challengers actively wooed voters directly, saw him rush to the northern region after coming back.

Youth Population and Joblessness

This indicates for the vast majority of the people, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they remember - more than sixty percent of Cameroon's thirty million residents are below the quarter century mark.

Young advocate Marie Flore Mboussi is desperate for "different faces" as she thinks "prolonged leadership inevitably leads to a type of complacency".

"With 43 years passed, the people are exhausted," she says.

Youth unemployment has become a particular discussion topic for most of the aspirants running in the vote.

Nearly 40% of young Cameroonians aged from 15 to 35 years are without work, with 23% of recent graduates facing challenges in obtaining official jobs.

Opposition Candidates

In addition to young people's job issues, the electoral process has also stirred debate, particularly regarding the disqualification of a political rival from the presidential race.

The removal, confirmed by the legal authority, was widely criticised as a strategy to prevent any significant opposition to the current leader.

A dozen aspirants were approved to vie for the presidency, featuring an ex-government official and a previous supporter - the two ex- Biya allies from the north of the nation.

Election Difficulties

Within the nation's English-speaking Northwest and South-West regions, where a long-running insurgency ongoing, an election boycott lockdown has been imposed, halting economic functions, movement and education.

Insurgents who have imposed it have warned to harm individuals who does vote.

Starting four years ago, those working toward a independent territory have been fighting official military.

The violence has so far resulted in at no fewer than 6k lives and caused almost half a million people from their houses.

Election Results

Once polling concludes, the Constitutional Council has fifteen days to announce the findings.

The security chief has earlier advised that no aspirant is authorized to claim success prior to official results.

"Individuals who will try to declare outcomes of the leadership vote or any unofficial win announcement in violation of the regulations of the country would have crossed the red line and should be ready to encounter retaliatory measures matching their violation."