Paul Biya has declared that he will contest the October presidential election, ending weeks of speculation about his intentions. Biya is chairman of the ruling Cameroon People’s democratic Movement party, CPDM.
His declaration of candidacy, claiming to heed the people’s calls, took the name by storm. “I have therefore decided to heed the numerous and insistent calls from the ten regions of our country and from the diaspora,” he said.
He did so, ignoring the Catholic Bishop of Yagua and other civil society actors who had said he shouldn’t stand. Declaring his announcement, Biya is the third person within the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party to contest.
However, there remains a challenge, as the party has not held any Congress which is supposed to elect the chairman who can represent the party in the election.
It is not clear whether Leon Theiller Onana, CPDM councillor of Montale, or Paul Alain Kamchi Kamtchi, CPDM municipal councillor of Bandja, will shift aside or continue despite the lack of Congress.
If Biya wins
Currently, he is the oldest president in the world and the second longest-ruling in Africa. At 92, he is seeking an eighth mandate. If he wins, he will be 99 years old when his mandate expires.
He has been ruling Cameroon since 1982, following the resignation of the first president, Amadou Ahijo. Paul Biya has lately been reserved, rarely seen in public.
His announcement came after meetings between the secretary general of the presidency with CPDM elites in all ten regions and some alliance parties.
