Can this world's oldest leader retain his title and attract a nation of young electorate?
This planet's oldest head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has assured Cameroon's electorate "the best is still to come" as he pursues his 8th consecutive presidential term this weekend.
The elderly leader has stayed in office for over four decades - an additional 7-year mandate could see him rule for 50 years making him almost 100.
Campaign Issues
He defied broad demands to resign and drew backlash for only showing up for one rally, spending most of the election season on a ten-day unofficial journey to Europe.
A backlash regarding his reliance on an computer-generated campaign video, as his challengers courted constituents directly, led to his hurried travel north upon his arrival.
Youth Voters and Joblessness
Consequently for the large portion of the population, Biya remains the sole leader they experienced - more than sixty percent of the nation's thirty million people are younger than the 25 years old.
Youthful campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "new blood" as she maintains "longevity in power naturally results in a kind of complacency".
"With 43 years passed, the citizens are tired," she says.
Youth unemployment has become a notable talking point for nearly all the aspirants competing in the vote.
Nearly forty percent of youthful residents aged from 15 and 35 are jobless, with 23% of college-educated youth encountering difficulties in securing regular work.
Opposition Candidates
In addition to youth unemployment, the electoral process has also stirred controversy, particularly regarding the disqualification of an opposition leader from the election contest.
His exclusion, upheld by the Constitutional Council, was widely criticised as a strategy to prevent any serious competition to the current leader.
A dozen contenders were approved to vie for the country's top job, featuring Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari - each former Biya colleagues from the north of the nation.
Election Difficulties
In Cameroon's Anglophone Northwest and Southwest areas, where a protracted insurgency persists, an voting prohibition restriction has been enforced, paralysing economic functions, travel and learning.
The separatists who have enforced it have warned to target people who does vote.
Starting four years ago, those seeking to create a breakaway state have been clashing with state security.
The violence has until now resulted in at least 6k individuals and caused nearly five hundred thousand residents from their homes.
Election Results
After Sunday's vote, the highest court has two weeks to declare the results.
The security chief has already warned that none of the contenders is allowed to claim success prior to official results.
"Candidates who will try to announce results of the leadership vote or any unofficial win announcement in violation of the rules of the nation would have broken rules and should be ready to receive penalties appropriate for their offense."
