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This world's oldest leader - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has assured the nation's electorate "better days are ahead" as he pursues his eighth consecutive presidential term on Sunday.

The 92-year-old has remained in power since 1982 - an additional seven-year mandate could see him rule for half a century reaching almost a century old.

Campaign Controversies

He ignored widespread calls to step down and has been criticised for making merely one public appearance, spending most of the political race on a ten-day unofficial journey to the European continent.

Negative reaction regarding his dependence on an AI-generated campaign video, as his challengers actively wooed constituents directly, prompted his quick return to the northern region upon his arrival.

Youth Voters and Joblessness

This indicates for the vast majority of the people, Biya remains the sole leader they experienced - more than 60% of Cameroon's thirty million inhabitants are below the quarter century mark.

Young campaigner Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "new blood" as she maintains "prolonged leadership inevitably leads to a kind of inertia".

"With 43 years passed, the people are exhausted," she states.

Employment challenges for youth has become a particular issue of concern for nearly all the contenders competing in the political race.

Almost forty percent of youthful Cameroonians between 15 to 35 years are jobless, with twenty-three percent of college-educated youth encountering difficulties in obtaining official jobs.

Opposition Candidates

In addition to young people's job issues, the election system has generated debate, especially with the disqualification of a political rival from the leadership competition.

The disqualification, upheld by the legal authority, was generally denounced as a strategy to stop any strong challenge to the incumbent.

Twelve aspirants were approved to contest for the country's top job, including Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari - the two former Biya colleagues from the north of the country.

Election Difficulties

In Cameroon's English-speaking North-West and Southwest territories, where a protracted rebellion continues, an poll avoidance lockdown has been enforced, stopping business activities, travel and schooling.

Rebel groups who have imposed it have warned to attack people who participates.

Since 2017, those seeking to create a breakaway state have been clashing with government forces.

The violence has until now caused the deaths of at least 6,000 people and forced almost 500,000 people from their residences.

Vote Outcome

Once polling concludes, the legal body has two weeks to declare the results.

The government official has earlier advised that no aspirant is permitted to announce winning in advance.

"Candidates who will seek to declare outcomes of the presidential election or any self-proclaimed victory in violation of the rules of the nation would have crossed the red line and need to be prepared to receive consequences commensurate to their crime."