Paul Biya, Cameroon’s 85-year-old president, has formally declared that he will run again in the country’s upcoming elections, seeking a seventh term.
Biya has been head of state since 1982, when he took over following the resignation of Ahmadou Ahidjo who was in power since independence in 1960.
“Aware of the challenges, we must take up together to ensure a more united, stable and prosperous Cameroon. I am willing to respond positively to your overwhelming calls. I will stand as your candidate in the upcoming presidential election,” Biya said in a Twitter post on Friday.
Cameroon is scheduled to hold elections on October 7. The vote comes at a tumultuous time for the country facing an Anglophone separatist movement and security threats posed by the Boko Haram armed group.
If re-elected, Biya could extend his rule well into his 90s. Only Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, has ruled uninterrupted for longer in Africa.
The president’s main rival is 49 year-old Joshua Osih of the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF).