Cameroonians began voting on Sunday in a presidential election where incumbent Paul Biya, the world’s oldest ruler at 92, is widely expected to maintain his 43-year grip on power despite an energized opposition pushing for change.
Biya’s opponents include former government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma, 76, who has drawn large crowds demanding an end to the veteran leader’s long tenure. Tchiroma’s bid has drawn endorsements from a platform of some opposition parties and civic groups.
However, analysts say that Biya, in power since 1982, is likely to be re-elected given his firm control of state machinery and the fragmented nature of the opposition.
In the capital, Yaounde, voters trickled in amid tight security at a polling station in the upscale Bastos neighbourhood near the presidential palace, where Biya was expected to cast his ballot.
“I hope it will go well, particularly for my champion,” said one voter, Patrick Mbarga Mboa, 45, declining to say who he supported.
“I hope peace and tranquillity will continue in the country after the election,” Mboa added.
DECADES OF ECONOMIC STAGNATION
Biya’s critics are still hoping he can be ousted after decades of economic stagnation and tensions in the Central African nation of 30 million people, an oil and cocoa producer.
In Yaounde’s Briqueterie neighbourhood, driver Hassane Djbril said he hoped the election would bring change.
“For 43 years, Cameroonians have been suffering. There are no jobs,” said Djbril, who plans to vote for Tchiroma. “We want change because the current government is dictatorial.”
Biya’s government has always denied this, saying Cameroon is a democratic country with regular free elections.
Voting starts at 0700 GMT and ends at 1700 GMT, with results expected within 15 days.
Biya abolished term limits in 2008 and has long deployed divide-and-rule tactics. The single-round electoral system gives victory to the candidate with a simple majority.
“A surprise is still possible, but a divided opposition and the backing of a formidable electoral machine will, we predict, give the 92-year-old his eighth term,” said Francois Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics.
“Biya has remained in power for nearly 43 years by deftly dividing his adversaries, and, although we think he isn’t very aware of what is going on, it seems that the machine he built will divide to rule one last time,” Conradie added in a note.
BIYA’S SLOGAN IS ‘GREATNESS AND HOPE’
Under the slogan “Greatness and Hope”, Biya has held just one campaign rally in the northern city of Maroua, relying on tightly controlled state media and posts on social media, while his team promises more economic development.
“For me, things have only gotten worse. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed,” said Herves Mitterand, a mechanic in the commercial capital, Douala. “We want to see that change, we want to see it actually happen. We don’t want to just keep hearing words anymore.”
Just over 8 million people have registered to vote.
