Overview

• Polling runs from 8:00 to 18:00 local time with just over 8 million registered voters in a single-round, simple‑majority contest.
• Paul Biya, in power since 1982, retains significant advantages through state machinery and the removal of term limits in 2008.
• Issa Tchiroma has drawn large crowds and emerged as the most energized challenger after Maurice Kamto was barred by the Constitutional Council.
• Authorities accredited 55,000 observers including the African Union, while independent platforms plan parallel tallies that the government criticizes as manipulative.
• The vote unfolds under the shadow of the Anglophone conflict that has suppressed turnout in the North‑West and South‑West and against deep socioeconomic strains, including roughly 40% living in poverty and about 35% urban unemployment.