Will Cameroon's Biya run again?

CAMEROON is counting down to a presidential election with key questions over the health of 92-year-old veteran leader Paul Biya, separatist violence in its English-speaking regions and ethnic tensions all unresolved.

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With less than four months until the first ballot is cast, any prospective challenger will have to soon announce their tilt at taking over the central African nation at a tough time for the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on May 9 predicted that should Biya run he would win the upcoming vote, “guaranteeing political and policy continuity” at a time of upheaval for many ordinary Cameroonians.

In the capital Yaounde, Biya’s likeness is plastered as usual on billboards all over the city, while his critics are nowhere to be seen.

Yet Biya, who came to power in 1982, has kept schtum on whether he will run in October's election to extend his more than four-decade rule.

Given Biya is already the world’s oldest head of state, questions over his health and capacity to govern have dominated debate over the vote.

Cameroon's opposition appears more fragmented than ever, undermining its ability to oust the long-time leader despite the favourable political winds.

That Biya’s critics have been unable to agree on a unity candidate is largely down to “the egoism of the players, the lack of humility of the leaders, ideological fractures and the whiff of tribalism”, said Simeon Ekodo Mveng, a political researcher at Laval University.