Cameroonians began voting Sunday in a presidential election in which outgoing President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest leader at 92, is expected to extend his 43-year hold on power despite a vigorous opposition demanding change.
His opponents include former government spokesman Issa Tchiroma, 76, who has galvanized large crowds demanding an end to Biya’s long term and won platform support from some opposition parties and civic groups.
However, analysts say Biya, in power since 1982, is likely to win re-election given his firm control over the state apparatus and the fragmented nature of a nine-candidate opposition field.
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 district, near the presidential palace in the capital Yaoundé.
Outside, voters flocked amid tight security around the president to cast their ballots.
“I hope this goes well, especially for my champion,” said one voter, Patrick Mbarga Mboa, 45, refusing to specify who he supported. “I hope that peace and tranquility will continue in the country after the elections.”
Biya’s critics still hope he can be ousted after decades of economic stagnation and tensions in the oil and cocoa-producing Central African country of 30 million people.
“This election comes at a time when the whole nation is yearning for change,” Tchiroma said after voting in his hometown of Garoua, in the Northern region.
He called on voters to remain vigilant and to ensure that the results announced by the constitutional council reflect those of the ballot boxes.
“For 43 years, Cameroonians have been suffering. There is no work,” said Hassane Djbril, a driver from the Briqueterie district of Yaoundé, who plans to vote for Tchiroma.
Biya’s slogan: “Greatness and hope”
Voting began at 07:00 GMT and will end at 17:00 GMT. Just over 8 million people have registered to vote. Results are expected within 15 days.
Biya abolished term limits in 2008 and has a long history of using divide-and-conquer tactics. The one-round electoral system gives victory to the candidate with the most votes, even if he did not obtain a majority.
“A surprise is still possible, but a divided opposition and the support of a formidable electoral machine will, in our view, give the 92-year-old his eighth term in office,” said François Conradie, senior political economist at Oxford Economics.
“While we don’t think he’s very aware of what’s going on, it appears that the machine he’s built is going to divide and conquer one last time,” Conradie added in a note.
Under the slogan “Greatness and Hope,” Biya has held just one election rally, in the northern town of Maroua, instead relying on tightly controlled state media and social media, while his team promises more economic development.
“We want to see this change, we want to see it actually happen. We don’t want to keep hearing words,” said Hervès Mitterand, a mechanic in the commercial capital, Douala.
