Cameroon, a country in Central Africa, has held presidential elections. 92-year-old President Paul Biya, who has been in power since the 1980s, is seeking another seven-year term.
This is reported by the Associated Press.
About 8 million voters were eligible to vote, including more than 34,000 living abroad. The results are now expected no later than October 26.
Analysts had previously predicted a victory for Biya. If that happens, he will be 99 years old by the end of his presidential term.
Meanwhile, the incumbent was facing nine opposition candidates, including some of his former allies and appointees. Among them were Bello Buba Maigari, who was the tourism minister, and Issa Tchiroma Bakari, who until recently served as the employment minister.
Opposition presidential candidate from the Social Democratic Front and member of parliament Joshua Osih, who came in fourth in the 2018 elections, said his party is concerned about possible fraud in the election.
“The system makes elections so that they cannot be free and fair, we know that,” the politician said.
As the AP notes, Biya's health has regularly become a subject of speculation. According to the news agency, the politician spends most of his time in Europe, and the country is run by party officials and members of his family.
Biya himself voted at a polling station set up in a primary school in the capital, Yaounde. He told reporters he would not comment on his plans until the results of the vote were announced.
Cameroon has a population of over 29 million, and the UN estimates that at least 43% of them live in poverty. Security in the country is a particular concern. In the western region, there is ongoing conflict between mainly English-speaking separatists and French-speaking government forces, while cities in the north of Cameroon are being attacked by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
More about Biya
He is the second-longest-serving president in Africa after Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and the oldest sitting head of state in the world.
He was first elected president in 1982 after the resignation of the first head of state, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and has ruled Cameroon continuously since then. Biya has won every election for the past 20 years with a margin of over 70%.
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