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The world's most aged leader - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has promised the nation's electorate "better days are ahead" as he aims for his eighth straight term in office on Sunday.

The nonagenarian has already been in office since 1982 - an additional seven-year mandate could extend his reign for half a century making him almost 100.

Campaign Issues

He defied widespread calls to step down and faced criticism for making merely one rally, spending most of the election season on a ten-day private trip to Europe.

Criticism regarding his use of an AI-generated political commercial, as his rivals actively wooed supporters directly, prompted his quick return to the northern region on his return home.

Young Population and Joblessness

It means that for the vast majority of the citizenry, Biya remains the sole leader they remember - over sixty percent of Cameroon's thirty million residents are below the age of 25.

Youthful campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "different faces" as she believes "prolonged leadership typically causes a kind of complacency".

"Following four decades, the citizens are exhausted," she states.

Young people's joblessness has been a notable issue of concern for most of the contenders running in the vote.

Almost forty percent of youthful citizens aged from 15-35 are jobless, with twenty-three percent of young graduates facing challenges in finding regular work.

Rival Candidates

In addition to youth unemployment, the election system has created debate, notably concerning the removal of an opposition leader from the leadership competition.

The disqualification, upheld by the Constitutional Council, was broadly condemned as a tactic to prevent any serious competition to the incumbent.

Twelve contenders were cleared to compete for the leadership position, comprising Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari - the two former Biya colleagues from the northern region of the country.

Voting Challenges

Within the nation's English-speaking Northwest and South-West territories, where a protracted insurgency ongoing, an voting prohibition restriction has been imposed, halting business activities, movement and education.

Rebel groups who have established it have threatened to harm individuals who casts a ballot.

Since 2017, those seeking to create a breakaway state have been fighting official military.

The conflict has until now killed at no fewer than 6,000 people and compelled approximately five hundred thousand others from their residences.

Vote Outcome

Following the election, the highest court has two weeks to announce the results.

The security chief has already warned that no candidate is permitted to declare victory in advance.

"Those who will seek to announce results of the leadership vote or any personal declaration of success against the rules of the republic would have violated boundaries and should be ready to receive consequences matching their offense."