Biya absent as Cameroon’s presidential campaign begins

Cameroon’s presidential campaign season officially kicked off on Saturday, with 12 candidates – including one woman – vying for the country’s highest office. Voters are set to head to the polls on October 12 in what could become a defining moment for the nation’s political future.

At the centre of the race is incumbent Paul Biya, 92, Africa’s oldest sitting head of state and the world’s longest-serving president after more than forty years in power. Biya, who has ruled since 1982 under the banner of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, is seeking an eighth seven-year term.

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But the veteran leader was absent from the country as the campaign swung into gear. His office said he left on a “private trip” to Europe a week ago. Biya has not directly addressed Cameroonians since July, when he announced his candidacy on X. He was also notably absent from the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, where his foreign minister stood in for him.

Opposition rallies take spotlight

While Biya remained abroad, his challengers moved quickly to energise supporters.

Joshua Osih of the main opposition Social Democratic Front launched his campaign in Bamenda, the capital of the English-speaking Northwest region, where frustrations with Yaoundé’s central government run deep.

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Cabral Libii, the youthful leader of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN), gathered supporters under light rain in Douala, the country’s largest city. Bello Bouba Maigari, a former tourism minister and one-time ally of Biya, drew several hundred members of his National Union for Democracy and Progress at a rally bolstered by the endorsement of former candidate Akere Muna, who withdrew from the race.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, another former Biya ally turned opponent, is also among the frontrunners hoping to galvanise momentum during the brief two-week campaign window.

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Biya’s longevity has become a central theme of the election. Critics say his prolonged absences underscore a presidency increasingly detached from day-to-day governance. A 2018 investigation by a consortium of journalists found he had spent a combined 4.5 years of his presidency abroad, mostly in Switzerland, at a cost of roughly $65 million.

Yet, despite his age, his long grip on the state apparatus and the dominance of his party across the political landscape mean the incumbent remains the candidate to beat.