After decades of one-man rule, Cameroon’s election stirs rare sense of uncertainty

Voting has ended in Cameroon’s presidential election, after a day of calm but cautious voting, as citizens of the Central African nation weighed the possibility of political change in a nation shaped by more than four decades of single-leader rule.

The poll, which closed on Sunday evening, saw 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, seek an eighth term after more than four decades in power. But unlike in previous elections, the mood on the streets suggested growing fatigue and a desire for renewal among many Cameroonians.

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Biya, who has led the country since 1982, faced 11 challengers, including several former allies. Among them was Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a 79-year-old former employment minister who resigned from government in June and has since emerged as the leading opposition candidate. His campaign gained momentum following the controversial disqualification of opposition figure Maurice Kamto, a move rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, said cast doubt on the credibility of the election.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 6 p.m. local time, with more than eight million registered voters expected to cast their ballots across 31,000 polling stations. Cameroon’s Electoral Code provides for a single round of voting, meaning whoever secures the most votes wins, regardless of majority.

At a polling station in Yaoundé, first-time voter Cheukam Ginette, 34, told AFP she was voting for change. “Life is expensive, there are no jobs, the roads are bad, hospitals are worse,” she said. “We don’t trust the system, but we still have to hope.”

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While Biya maintained his characteristically low profile throughout the campaign, he appeared in public on Tuesday for the first time since May, looking visibly fit as he addressed a rally in Maroua, a key northern city with 1.2 million eligible voters. “Nothing is certain,” Biya told reporters after voting in the Bastos neighbourhood near the presidential palace. “Let’s wait until we know the name of the elected official.”

Analysts say that although Biya’s party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), still wields enormous influence across the state machinery, this year’s campaign has been unusually competitive. “The ruling system has ample means at its disposal to get results in its favour,” said political scientist Stephane Akoa to AFP. “But the campaign has been livelier than usual — this vote could surprise us.”

Cameroon, which gained independence from France in 1960, is central Africa’s most diversified economy, rich in oil, gas, timber and cocoa. Yet the World Bank estimates that 40 per cent of its people live below the poverty line, and unemployment in major cities is around 35 per cent.

The vote also unfolded against a backdrop of tension in the country’s English-speaking regions, where separatist violence has continued since 2016. Turnout there was reported to be low, echoing the boycott and unrest seen during the 2018 polls.

Read also:Biya absent as Cameroon’s presidential campaign begins

Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the national electoral body, has authorised 55,000 local and international observers, including a delegation from the African Union. The Constitutional Council has until October 26 to declare the official results.

In the meantime, the government has warned against the publication of unofficial tallies, after several online platforms announced plans to compile results independently. Authorities said such actions could “manipulate public opinion” and incite unrest.

As the nation waits, many Cameroonians say the outcome will not only determine who governs but whether the country can begin to break from a political order that has defined it for generations.