Cameroon’s president, the world’s oldest, likely faces election challenge from close allies

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YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon’s longtime President Paul Biya is gearing up for a likely election challenge from two of his closest allies after they both resigned from his government and announced their candidacy in the October election.

Bello Bouba Maigari, Cameroon’s tourism minister, quit the government this week after Issa Tchiroma Bakary resigned as minister of employment and vocational training last week, both pitching themselves as the right candidates to succeed Biya.

Biya, 92, has been in power since 1982, nearly half his lifetime, making him Cameroon’s second president since independence from France in 1960.

The world’s oldest and Africa’s second longest-serving president, Biya, has not made a formal decision on seeking another term in office, although he has hinted at accepting the ruling party’s requests for him to run again.

He is frequently sick and abroad, and last year, a rumor spread that he had died, prompting the government to publicly deny the rumors.

In 2018, he cruised to victory with over 70% of the vote in an election marred by irregularities and low turnout due to ongoing separatist and jihadist violence.

The upcoming election, however, could mark a turning point for a country that has only ever seen two presidents, one from the Christian south and one from the Muslim north.

Both of the close allies-turned opponents hail from the north while Biya is from the south and would be 99 by the time he completes a new term.

Supporters of the defecting allies claim they will represent a new era of politics and questioned the elderly president’s ability to govern.

“We signed an alliance with the president when he was very apt and held full powers. Today, we don’t know exactly in which state he is,” Maidadi Dadou, the national communication secretary for Maigari’s political party, said in a statement to the Associated Press.

The over 40 years of Biya’s stay in power have left a lasting impact in the country as ongoing separatist violence in the English-speaking parts has forced thousands out of school. An extremist violence has also spilled over from the neighboring Nigeria. His government is also accused of corruption.

In a region threatened with shrinking democratic space, several other African countries also have presidents accused of using state mechanisms to prolong their stay in power. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently sought nomination for a seventh term, a move that would bring him closer to five decades in power in the East African country.