25.9 C
Kano
Friday, November 28, 2025

World’s Oldest Head Of State, 92-Year-Old Paul Biya Wins Election In Cameroon

Cameroonian President Paul Biya, 92, reacts after he cast his ballot during the presidential election in Yaounde, Cameroon on October 12, 2025.

Reports from Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon say, Cameroon’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya, has been declared the winner of heavily disputed elections by the Central African country’s Constitutional Council.

Biya, got 53.7% of the vote compared to the 25% of his main challenger Issa Tchiroma Bakary, and has been re-elected for an eighth term that could keep him in office until he is nearly 100, according to official results announced on Monday.

Read AlsoCameroun: 92-Year-Old Paul Biya Vies For Eighth Term Presidential Election Tomorrow

“Hereby proclaimed President-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” said Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council.

Biya, 92, took office in 1982 and has held a tight grip on power ever since, doing away with the presidential term limit in 2008 and winning reelection by comfortable margins.

Biya came to power, elbowing aside his patron and predecessor Ahmadou Ahidjo, promising liberal reforms before entrenching his hold on the presidency.

Praise for Biya includes the expansion of schools and public universities during his time in office, and his handling of the Bakassi dispute which saw the oil-rich peninsula handed to Cameroon instead of Nigeria.

But, under his aegis, Cameroon is almost a decade deep into a violent separatist insurgency in the English-speaking west, unemployment stands at 40% for the under-35s, roads and hospitals are crumbling, and freedom of speech is more a notion than a reality, external.

This year his strongest challenge came from Bakary, a former government spokesperson and employment minister in his late 70s.

He broke ranks with Biya earlier this year and mounted a campaign that drew large crowds and endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups. — Agencies via SG

Share your thoughts on the story World’s Oldest Head Of State, 92-Year-Old Paul Biya Wins Election In Cameroon with Nigerian Kicker in the comments section.

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Stay Connected

0FansLike
3,912FollowersFollow
0SubscribersSubscribe

Latest Articles