Cameroon President wants to go on almost for his 100th birthday

Cameroon President wants to go on almost for his 100th birthday

The 92-year-old President Kameruns, Paul Biya, who has been ruling the Central African country with an iron hand for almost 43 years, has announced a renewed candidacy for the presidency that could keep him in office until shortly before his 100th birthday.

Biyas announcement and health concerns

"There is still a lot to do," said Biya, who is at the end of his seventh term. "The best thing is still coming," added the camera guide in a explanation on Sunday.

BIYA a new seven -year term in the presidential elections in October, despite reporting that his state of health has deteriorated. He explained that his decision to stay in power was based on "urgent appeals from the 10 regions of our country and from the diaspora".

speculation about his health

his announcement takes place months after his office had rejected speculation about his health and even his death, which after a long absence from the public. Discussions about his state of health were later banned by the media, whereby the Interior Ministry of Cameroon classified this as the matter of national security.

For years, the rumors about Biya's health and residence were central topics in Cameroon because it is rarely seen in public. Nevertheless, he kept control of the country heavily and won several re -elections - some of them with overwhelming majorities.

Cameroon's political landscape

BIYA came to power in 1982 and is one of the longest governing heads of state in the world, apart from monarchs. He is only the second president who has had the Cameroon since independence from France and Great Britain in the early 1960s.

Questions revolve around the possibilities of how Biya could strive for an eighth term, while many local guides encourage him to look for a new mandate. However, some of its allies left the government and Presidential advertisements started .

challenges for the opposition

Defeating Biyas to the urn could be difficult for his opponents, as the political analyst Collins Molua Ikome, which is based in Germany, explains. He informed CNN that the Cameroonian opposition, consisting of over 300 political parties, was too fragmented in order to displace the governing Cameroonian Volksdemocratic Movement (CPDM) in the elections in October. Only one alliance could be a threat to the president.

"As a single candidate, you (the opposition) have no chance. If you form a transition alliance, you might make it," he said.

In March last year, the plans of two opposition parties to form an alliance of the Interior Ministry of the country as Illegal Described, a measure that from Human Rights Watch as " Part of a government repression against opposition and deviating opinions “ was described.

viola violations during Biya's rule

Biya's long rule is characterized by widespread allegations of human rights violations that include “extra -Judicial executions, arbitrary arrests, illegal arresting, torture ... unfair legal proceedings as well as the persecution and detention of people based on their actual or supposed sexual orientation and gender identity”, loud of the human rights organization amnesty international.