Presidential election campaign kicks off in Cameroon ⁰

Cameroon’s presidential race officially began on Saturday, with 12 candidates, including one woman, vying for the country’s highest office.

The campaign will last for two weeks, culminating in the presidential election on Oct. 12.

Incumbent President Paul Biya, leader of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, is seeking to extend his 43-year rule by winning another seven-year mandate.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari, former ministers and ex-allies of Biya, are among the main opposition contenders.

Joshua Osih, candidate of the leading opposition Social Democratic Front, launched his campaign in Bamenda, the chief town of the English-speaking Northwest Region, which has been ravaged by an armed separatist conflict since 2017.

Separatist fighters have imposed a month-long lockdown to disrupt the election in the war-torn English-speaking regions of the Northwest and Southwest, where they are seeking to create an independent nation.

Source: Xinhuanet