Cameroon will hold its presidential election on October 12, according to a decree signed by President Paul Biya on Friday.
President Biya, who leads the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), has not said whether he will run for an eighth term. The 92-year-old has been in power for nearly 43 years.
Recently, some of his longtime supporters have started to distance themselves from him. Two major political figures who were once close to Biya have decided to run against him in the upcoming election.
Employment Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary resigned in June to run as the candidate for his party, the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC).
Former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari, who was a Biya ally for nearly 30 years, also announced his candidacy under the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP).
Both the FSNC and NUDP were previously allied with Biya’s party, which has ruled Cameroon since it gained independence in 1960.
Other candidates in the race include Maurice Kamto, who came second in the 2018 election and is one of Biya’s strongest critics, and Cabral Libii of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation (CPNR), another well-known opposition leader.
Anyone who wants to run in the election has until July 21 to officially declare their candidacy.