At 92, Paul Biya Secures Eighth Term as Cameroon’s President

Cameroonian President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, has secured another term in office at the age of 92, extending his 43-year rule over the Central African nation. Biya won 53.7% of the vote in the October 12 presidential election, according to Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council. His closest rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who resigned from the cabinet in June, garnered 35.2%.

Biya, running under the banner of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), will be inaugurated on November 6 in the capital, Yaoundé. If he completes his new term, Biya will remain in power until the age of 99.

The election was marred by controversy following the disqualification of Biya’s main challenger, Maurice Kamto, leader of the main opposition party, who was barred from running because his party had nominated two candidates. Out of 83 presidential hopefuls, only 12 were allowed to contest, drawing accusations from opposition groups and civil society organisations that the election was neither free nor fair.

The 92-year-old leader, who has ruled since 1982, barely campaigned and spent more than a week in Switzerland in September, where he had previously sought medical care. His only campaign rally was held in Maroua, his political stronghold in the Far North, on October 7, where he pledged to create jobs, foster entrepreneurship and step up security in a country where 40% of the population lives in poverty.

Cameroon faces multiple crises, including terrorism and kidnappings in the north and a secessionist conflict in its two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and Southwest, which has claimed an estimated 6,500 lives since 2017, according to the International Crisis Group.

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Biya’s advanced age and limited public appearances have sparked concerns about his health and raised questions about succession. Under the Constitution, if the president dies in office, the president of the Senate becomes the interim leader, and elections must be held within 120 days. However, the current Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji, is 91 years old and in poor health, according to multiple Senate statements.

During Biya’s lengthy rule, corruption scandals have repeatedly surfaced, but the government has remained silent on all of them, said Victor Julius Ngoh, professor of history and political science at the University of Buea.