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The world's most aged leader - 92-year-old Paul Biya - has pledged Cameroon's electorate "the best is still to come" as he seeks his eighth straight presidential term this weekend.

The nonagenarian has already been in office for over four decades - an additional 7-year mandate could see him rule for 50 years making him almost a century old.

Campaign Controversies

He defied widespread calls to step down and faced criticism for only showing up for a single campaign event, using the majority of the political race on a ten-day personal visit to the European continent.

A backlash concerning his reliance on an computer-generated election advertisement, as his opponents sought voters in person, led to his hurried travel to the northern region after coming back.

Young Population and Unemployment

It means that for the great bulk of the citizenry, Biya has been the exclusive ruler they remember - over sixty percent of Cameroon's thirty million residents are under the quarter century mark.

Youthful advocate Marie Flore Mboussi is desperate for "fresh leadership" as she maintains "extended rule inevitably leads to a kind of complacency".

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

Employment challenges for youth remains a particular talking point for nearly all the contenders competing in the election.

Approximately 40% of youthful citizens between 15 to 35 years are unemployed, with twenty-three percent of young graduates experiencing problems in securing formal employment.

Opposition Contenders

Beyond youth unemployment, the voting procedure has also stirred controversy, especially with the removal of Maurice Kamto from the election contest.

The removal, upheld by the legal authority, was widely criticised as a tactic to block any significant opposition to the current leader.

A dozen candidates were approved to contest for the leadership position, featuring an ex-government official and a previous supporter - the two former Biya associates from the north of the country.

Voting Challenges

In Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and South-West territories, where a long-running rebellion persists, an election boycott lockdown has been established, paralysing commercial operations, movement and schooling.

Rebel groups who have enforced it have threatened to attack individuals who does vote.

Starting four years ago, those working toward a breakaway state have been fighting state security.

The conflict has to date killed at least 6,000 lives and compelled almost 500,000 others from their residences.

Election Results

Once polling concludes, the legal body has fifteen days to declare the results.

The government official has previously cautioned that no aspirant is authorized to claim success beforehand.

"Those who will try to reveal findings of the political race or any self-proclaimed victory against the regulations of the republic would have crossed the red line and need to be prepared to encounter consequences appropriate for their offense."