Cameroon votes as Biya, 92, world’s oldest ruler, bids to extend four-decade rule
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President Paul Biya, who is seeking an eighth term, with his wife Chantal at the launch of his electoral campaign in Maroua city on Oct 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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YAOUNDE – Cameroonians were set to vote on Oct 12 in a presidential election where incumbent Paul Biya, the world’s oldest ruler at 92, is widely expected to maintain his 43-year grip on power despite an energised opposition pushing for change.
Mr Biya’s opponents include former government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma, 76, who has drawn large crowds demanding an end to the veteran leader’s long tenure. Mr Tchiroma’s bid has drawn endorsements from a platform of some opposition parties and civic groups.
However, analysts say that Mr Biya, in power since 1982, is likely to be re-elected given his firm control of state machinery and the fragmented nature of the opposition.
Decades of economic stagnation
“Nothing is given. Let’s wait and see. Let’s wait for the name of the winner,” Mr Biya told journalists after voting in the upscale Bastos neighbourhood near the presidential palace in the capital Yaounde.
His critics are still hoping he can be ousted after decades of economic stagnation and tensions in the Central African nation of 30 million people, an oil and cocoa producer.
“This election comes at a time when the whole nation aspires for change,” Mr Tchiroma said after voting in his hometown of Garoua in the North region.
He urged voters to remain vigilant and make sure that the results announced by the constitutional council reflect the result from ballot boxes.
In the Briqueterie neighbourhood of the capital Yaounde, driver Hassane Djbril said he hoped the election would bring change.
“For 43 years, Cameroonians have been suffering. There are no jobs,” said Mr Djbril, who plans to vote for Mr Tchiroma. “We want change because the current government is dictatorial.”
Mr Biya’s government has always denied this, saying Cameroon is a democratic country with regular free elections.
Voting starts at 7am GMT (3pm, Singapore time) and ends at 5pm GMT, with results expected within 15 days.
Mr Biya abolished term limits in 2008 and has long deployed divide-and-rule tactics. The single-round electoral system gives victory to the candidate with a simple majority.
“A surprise is still possible, but a divided opposition and the backing of a formidable electoral machine will, we predict, give the 92-year-old his eighth term,” said Mr Francois Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics.
“Biya has remained in power for nearly 43 years by deftly dividing his adversaries, and, although we think he isn’t very aware of what is going on, it seems that the machine he built will divide to rule one last time,” Mr Conradie added in a note.
Biya’s slogan is ‘Greatness and Hope’
Under the slogan “Greatness and Hope”, Mr Biya has held just one campaign rally in the northern city of Maroua, relying on tightly controlled state media and posts on social media, while his team promises more economic development.
“For me, things have only gotten worse. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed,” said Mr Herves Mitterand, a mechanic in the commercial capital, Douala.
“We want to see that change, we want to see it actually happen. We don’t want to just keep hearing words any more.”
Just over eight million people have registered to vote. REUTERS
