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This planet's most aged leader - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has promised the nation's electorate "the best is still to come" as he seeks his 8th consecutive presidential term this weekend.

The elderly leader has remained in power since 1982 - another seven-year mandate could keep him in power for 50 years reaching almost a century old.

Campaign Controversies

He ignored numerous appeals to resign and faced criticism for making merely one rally, devoting much of the campaign period on a ten-day private trip to Europe.

Negative reaction regarding his use of an artificial intelligence created election advertisement, as his challengers actively wooed supporters in person, led to his hurried travel north on his return home.

Youth Voters and Unemployment

Consequently for the vast majority of the population, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they have known - more than 60% of the nation's 30 million residents are below the age of 25.

Youthful political activist Marie Flore Mboussi urgently wants "new blood" as she believes "extended rule naturally results in a kind of inertia".

"Following four decades, the citizens are exhausted," she says.

Youth unemployment has become a notable issue of concern for most of the candidates competing in the election.

Nearly forty percent of youthful citizens aged from 15-35 are without work, with 23% of young graduates facing challenges in obtaining formal employment.

Opposition Contenders

Beyond youth unemployment, the election system has also stirred dispute, particularly regarding the disqualification of an opposition leader from the leadership competition.

His exclusion, confirmed by the legal authority, was widely criticised as a strategy to block any significant opposition to the current leader.

A dozen candidates were authorized to contest for the presidency, including an ex-government official and another former ally - the two former Biya allies from the northern region of the country.

Voting Challenges

In Cameroon's English-speaking North-West and South-West areas, where a long-running rebellion continues, an voting prohibition restriction has been imposed, halting economic functions, travel and learning.

The separatists who have enforced it have threatened to attack individuals who does vote.

Starting four years ago, those seeking to create a independent territory have been fighting state security.

The violence has to date caused the deaths of at no fewer than 6,000 lives and caused nearly half a million people from their homes.

Election Results

Following the election, the Constitutional Council has two weeks to announce the findings.

The interior minister has previously cautioned that no candidate is allowed to claim success prior to official results.

"Candidates who will seek to reveal findings of the presidential election or any unofficial win announcement in violation of the regulations of the nation would have broken rules and must prepare to face penalties commensurate to their crime."