Will this planet's most aged president keep the position and attract a nation of young voters?
This planet's oldest head of state - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has pledged the nation's electorate "the best is still to come" as he aims for his eighth consecutive presidential term this weekend.
The elderly leader has already been in office since 1982 - an additional 7-year mandate could keep him in power for half a century making him almost 100.
Campaign Issues
He defied broad demands to step down and drew backlash for making merely one rally, devoting much of the campaign period on a week-and-a-half personal visit to the European continent.
Criticism regarding his dependence on an AI-generated political commercial, as his challengers courted constituents in person, saw him rush north after coming back.
Young Voters and Joblessness
It means that for the large portion of the citizenry, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they experienced - over sixty percent of the nation's 30 million residents are younger than the quarter century mark.
Youthful political activist Marie Flore Mboussi strongly desires "fresh leadership" as she maintains "extended rule inevitably leads to a type of complacency".
"With 43 years passed, the citizens are exhausted," she states.
Young people's joblessness has become a particular discussion topic for most of the aspirants running in the vote.
Almost forty percent of young residents aged from 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with 23% of college-educated youth encountering difficulties in finding regular work.
Rival Candidates
Apart from young people's job issues, the voting procedure has also stirred dispute, notably concerning the exclusion of Maurice Kamto from the election contest.
His exclusion, approved by the legal authority, was broadly condemned as a ploy to stop any significant opposition to President Biya.
12 candidates were authorized to compete for the presidency, including an ex-government official and another former ally - both ex- Biya allies from the north of the country.
Voting Difficulties
In Cameroon's Anglophone North-West and South-West regions, where a extended insurgency persists, an election boycott closure has been enforced, halting economic functions, transport and schooling.
Rebel groups who have imposed it have warned to attack anyone who does vote.
Starting four years ago, those working toward a separate nation have been clashing with state security.
The conflict has to date resulted in at least 6k people and compelled almost half a million residents from their houses.
Election Results
Once polling concludes, the Constitutional Council has two weeks to reveal the results.
The security chief has previously cautioned that no candidate is permitted to claim success in advance.
"Candidates who will try to announce results of the political race or any self-proclaimed victory in violation of the laws of the country would have broken rules and must prepare to face penalties matching their crime."
