Cameroon’s 92-Year-Old Paul Biya Re-Elected, Extending 43-Year Grip on Power

Cameroon’s long-serving president, Paul Biya, has secured another term in office at the age of 92, extending his already four-decade rule in one of Africa’s most enduring regimes.

The country’s Constitutional Council on Monday declared Biya the winner of the October 12 presidential election, granting him an eighth consecutive term that could see him remain in power until nearly 100 years old.

“Hereby proclaimed President-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” announced Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council, during a live broadcast from Yaoundé.

Biya, who first took office in 1982, remains the world’s oldest head of state and one of the continent’s longest-serving leaders. His tenure has been marked by tight political control, the removal of presidential term limits in 2008, and repeated re-elections — each drawing criticism from opposition parties and rights groups alleging irregularities.

This year’s election presented Biya with one of his strongest challenges yet from Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a 70-something former government spokesman and employment minister who broke ranks with Biya earlier in the year. Bakary’s campaign drew large crowds and endorsements from a coalition of opposition groups and civic organisations but ultimately fell short.

The latest re-election further cements Biya’s dominance over Cameroon’s political landscape, with critics arguing that the ageing leader’s extended stay in power threatens democratic governance in the Central African nation.

Despite widespread frustration among the youth and opposition, Biya retains strong control over the country’s security forces, ruling party, and political institutions — a reality that has helped him withstand decades of domestic and international pressure for reform.