The call for presidential applications has been officially launched in Cameroon. All the candidates wishing to get the job can register their application before the expected election that will take place in October. Paul Biya already applied for a position he knows very well. Is there a real chance to see someone else at the top of the country?
Paul Biya has been the president of the Cameroonian people since 1982. The President is 92 years old, but he is willing to apply for an 8th term, which he did a couple of days ago. In spite of his fragile health and advanced age, Biya still has assets and advantages for many Cameroonian citizens. If the economic and social situation in Cameroon is far from being a satisfaction for the people, putting a new president at the head of the country would be somewhat risky. With Biya, it is a matter of habits and stability. “We only have one chief, and that’s him”, Grégoire Owona asserted.
The minister of work and social security is not the only one to think this way. After 43 years with the same president, no matter what happened during this era, the possibility to experiment “someone else” is already special to handle. Some people living in Cameroon today only knew Biya as a president. The presidential squad knows it, and Biya’s close circle will not prevent from highlighting the stability and experience argument in this campaign.
Does it mean that everything is already decided in advance? Not necessarily, provided a real opposition manages to compete with Paul Biya in this campaign. A powerful coalition, or a candidate that is able to gather and propose a credible alternative to Biya’s program. Maurice Kamto, the main opponent to Biya’s regime, applied recently.
Guillaume Mahot