Will this world's most aged president keep the title and woo a country of youthful voters?

This planet's most aged leader - nonagenarian Paul Biya - has assured the nation's voters "the future holds promise" as he seeks his eighth consecutive presidential term this weekend.

The elderly leader has stayed in office since 1982 - an additional 7-year mandate could keep him in power for 50 years reaching almost 100.

Campaign Controversies

He defied widespread calls to step down and drew backlash for only showing up for a single campaign event, using the majority of the election season on a ten-day private trip to Europe.

Negative reaction concerning his reliance on an computer-generated political commercial, as his opponents sought voters directly, prompted his quick return north upon his arrival.

Young Voters and Unemployment

It means that for the great bulk of the population, Biya is the only president they have known - over sixty percent of Cameroon's 30 million people are under the quarter century mark.

Youthful advocate Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "different faces" as she believes "longevity in power inevitably leads to a type of laziness".

"Following four decades, the population are tired," she states.

Employment challenges for youth has become a specific talking point for the majority of the aspirants competing in the vote.

Almost forty percent of young Cameroonians aged from 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of young graduates experiencing problems in finding formal employment.

Opposition Candidates

Apart from youth unemployment, the election system has created dispute, notably concerning the disqualification of an opposition leader from the presidential race.

The removal, confirmed by the legal authority, was broadly condemned as a ploy to stop any serious competition to President Biya.

12 aspirants were authorized to contest for the leadership position, comprising a former minister and Bello Bouba Maigari - both ex- Biya associates from the northern region of the country.

Election Difficulties

In Cameroon's Anglophone North-West and South-West territories, where a extended separatist conflict persists, an election boycott closure has been established, stopping business activities, travel and schooling.

Insurgents who have imposed it have threatened to attack anyone who does vote.

Beginning in 2017, those seeking to create a breakaway state have been battling official military.

The conflict has so far caused the deaths of at minimum 6,000 lives and caused almost 500,000 others from their residences.

Election Results

Following the election, the legal body has two weeks to announce the outcome.

The security chief has previously cautioned that no candidate is permitted to announce winning beforehand.

"Candidates who will seek to announce results of the presidential election or any self-proclaimed victory in violation of the rules of the nation would have violated boundaries and need to be prepared to receive consequences commensurate to their offense."