Cameroon president Biya seeks 7th term in office

Cameroon ’ s 85 -year – old president , Paul Biya , announced Friday that he plans to run for a seventh consecutive term in office in the October election .“ I will be your candidate in the next presidential election , ” Biya , who has been head of state in the West African country for 35 years , wrote on his Twitter account .

Biya , who came to power in 1982 when his predecessor retired , is seeking a seventh term in office that could see the 85 -year – old rule well into his 90 s .

It would leave him in rare company after former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Gambia ’ s Yahya Jammeh were ousted in 2017 .

Of Africa ’ s living rulers, only Equatorial Guinea ’ s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled uninterrupted for longer .

Biya , who has ruled virtually by decree since taking office , scrapped term limits from the constitution in 2008 , allowing him to run again and sparking riots in which over 40 people were killed .

The election , scheduled on Oct . 7 , comes at a turbulent time for the Central African country and for Biya .

A separatist insurgency in the western English -speaking regions has killed 84 troops in September 2018 , while a drop in the price of its key cocoa and oil exports has weighed on the economy .

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