🔗 Share this article Will this planet's most aged leader keep his title and attract a nation of young electorate? The planet's oldest head of state - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has assured the nation's electorate "better days are ahead" as he seeks his eighth consecutive term in office on Sunday. The elderly leader has already been in office since 1982 - an additional 7-year term could see him rule for half a century making him almost a century old. Campaign Issues He resisted widespread calls to leave office and has been criticised for only showing up for one rally, devoting much of the political race on a week-and-a-half unofficial journey to Europe. Criticism concerning his use of an AI-generated campaign video, as his rivals sought voters in person, prompted his quick return to the northern region on his return home. Young Voters and Joblessness This indicates for the large portion of the people, Biya is the only president they experienced - above sixty percent of the nation's thirty million people are younger than the quarter century mark. Youthful political activist Marie Flore Mboussi is desperate for "new blood" as she believes "longevity in power typically causes a sort of inertia". "With 43 years passed, the citizens are weary," she says. Youth unemployment has been a specific discussion topic for most of the candidates running in the election. Approximately 40% of young citizens aged from 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of young graduates encountering difficulties in obtaining formal employment. Opposition Candidates In addition to youth unemployment, the electoral process has generated dispute, especially with the removal of an opposition leader from the leadership competition. The disqualification, approved by the highest court, was generally denounced as a ploy to block any significant opposition to President Biya. A dozen contenders were authorized to vie for the presidency, comprising Issa Tchiroma Bakary and a previous supporter - each previous Biya allies from the northern region of the nation. Election Challenges Within the nation's Anglophone Northwest and Southwest areas, where a protracted rebellion persists, an voting prohibition closure has been enforced, halting business activities, travel and education. Rebel groups who have enforced it have promised to harm anyone who casts a ballot. Since 2017, those attempting to establish a breakaway state have been clashing with official military. The violence has to date killed at no fewer than 6,000 people and caused approximately five hundred thousand others from their residences. Election Results Following the election, the Constitutional Council has 15 days to announce the findings. The security chief has earlier advised that no candidate is permitted to announce winning prior to official results. "Those who will seek to declare outcomes of the presidential election or any self-proclaimed victory against the rules of the nation would have violated boundaries and need to be prepared to encounter retaliatory measures matching their violation."