Cameroon’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya has announced his candidacy for October’s presidential election, potentially extending his 43-year rule – already the longest of any non-royal African leader.
The octogenarian leader made the surprise declaration via social media on Sunday, posting in both French and English: “I am a candidate for the 12 October 2025 presidential election… The best is still to come.”
Biya’s bid comes amid growing concerns about his capacity to govern, with the president rarely seen in public and frequently traveling to Switzerland for medical treatment.
His ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) had already endorsed him as their candidate, but the announcement has exposed cracks in his political base. Two longtime allies – Employment Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary and former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari – recently defected to challenge him, while public discontent grows over unemployment, inflation and separatist violence in English-speaking regions.
Opposition leaders Maurice Kamto and Cabral Libii have also declared their candidacies, though analysts note the fractured opposition faces an uphill battle against Biya’s entrenched political machinery.
With candidates required to register by July 21, the election is shaping up as a test of whether Africa’s second-longest serving leader can maintain his grip despite advanced age and mounting socioeconomic crises in the Central African nation.
