Will the planet's oldest leader retain his title and woo a nation of youthful electorate?
The planet's most aged leader - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has assured Cameroon's electorate "the best is still to come" as he pursues his 8th consecutive presidential term on Sunday.
The nonagenarian has stayed in power for over four decades - another seven-year mandate could see him rule for half a century making him almost a century old.
Election Issues
He ignored broad demands to resign and faced criticism for making merely a single campaign event, spending most of the campaign period on a week-and-a-half private trip to the European continent.
Criticism regarding his use of an artificial intelligence created campaign video, as his rivals actively wooed constituents in person, led to his hurried travel north upon his arrival.
Youth Population and Unemployment
This indicates for the vast majority of the citizenry, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they remember - more than sixty percent of Cameroon's 30 million residents are under the quarter century mark.
Young political activist Marie Flore Mboussi strongly desires "fresh leadership" as she thinks "extended rule inevitably leads to a kind of inertia".
"After 43 years, the population are weary," she says.
Youth unemployment has become a particular talking point for the majority of the aspirants participating in the election.
Almost forty percent of youthful residents aged from 15 and 35 are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of young graduates facing challenges in finding formal employment.
Rival Contenders
Beyond youth unemployment, the electoral process has generated dispute, particularly regarding the disqualification of a political rival from the election contest.
The removal, confirmed by the legal authority, was widely criticised as a ploy to prevent any significant opposition to the current leader.
Twelve contenders were cleared to contest for the presidency, comprising an ex-government official and another former ally - the two ex- Biya allies from the northern region of the nation.
Voting Difficulties
In Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and South-West regions, where a long-running separatist conflict ongoing, an voting prohibition closure has been enforced, stopping business activities, travel and schooling.
The separatists who have imposed it have promised to attack people who casts a ballot.
Starting four years ago, those working toward a separate nation have been clashing with state security.
The conflict has until now resulted in at no fewer than 6k lives and caused nearly 500,000 others from their residences.
Vote Outcome
Once polling concludes, the highest court has two weeks to announce the outcome.
The government official has previously cautioned that no aspirant is permitted to declare victory in advance.
"Those who will seek to declare outcomes of the presidential election or any unofficial win announcement against the regulations of the nation would have crossed the red line and must prepare to encounter retaliatory measures matching their crime."
