🔗 Share this article Can this planet's oldest leader retain his title and woo a country of young voters? The world's most aged head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has promised the nation's electorate "better days are ahead" as he pursues his 8th straight presidential term on Sunday. The nonagenarian has stayed in power since 1982 - another seven-year mandate could extend his reign for half a century making him almost 100. Election Issues He resisted numerous appeals to resign and faced criticism for only showing up for a single campaign event, devoting much of the campaign period on a ten-day private trip to the European continent. Criticism concerning his reliance on an AI-generated election advertisement, as his rivals sought voters directly, led to his hurried travel to the northern region upon his arrival. Youth Voters and Unemployment This indicates for the great bulk of the population, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they have known - above 60% of the nation's thirty million inhabitants are under the 25 years old. Youthful campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi is desperate for "new blood" as she maintains "extended rule inevitably leads to a type of inertia". "Following four decades, the population are tired," she states. Youth unemployment remains a notable discussion topic for nearly all the candidates competing in the election. Approximately 40% of youthful Cameroonians aged from 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of college-educated youth facing challenges in obtaining regular work. Rival Candidates Apart from young people's job issues, the electoral process has created dispute, especially with the disqualification of Maurice Kamto from the presidential race. His exclusion, upheld by the legal authority, was generally denounced as a strategy to prevent any serious competition to the current leader. A dozen candidates were authorized to contest for the leadership position, featuring Issa Tchiroma Bakary and a previous supporter - each ex- Biya associates from the north of the country. Voting Difficulties Within the nation's Anglophone Northwest and South-West areas, where a extended insurgency persists, an poll avoidance restriction has been enforced, stopping economic functions, travel and education. Rebel groups who have established it have promised to harm people who does vote. Beginning in 2017, those attempting to establish a separate nation have been clashing with official military. The violence has until now resulted in at no fewer than 6,000 individuals and caused nearly five hundred thousand people from their residences. Election Results Once polling concludes, the Constitutional Council has fifteen days to reveal the outcome. The interior minister has previously cautioned that no candidate is authorized to claim success beforehand. "Candidates who will seek to reveal findings of the leadership vote or any unofficial win announcement contrary to the rules of the nation would have violated boundaries and should be ready to receive consequences matching their violation."