As President Paul Biya returns to Cameroon, can he still rule?
After 74 days abroad, Cameroon's 93-year-old president is back — and the country is asking whether he can still rule, and who comes next.
Cameroon is asking a question it has avoided for decades: after Paul Biya's latest long absence, can the 93-year-old president still rule the country — and who comes after him?
Biya, Africa's longest-serving president, returned to the country on August 20 after 74 days away, much of it at a Geneva hotel his office described as a "short private stay". He has ruled Cameroon since 1982, and analysts say the so-called absentee president largely delegates governance to his cabinet while spending extended periods abroad.
His latest re-election, for an eighth term, triggered mass protests that security forces violently suppressed; rights groups say at least 48 people were killed. Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who claimed victory in the vote, was forced into exile in The Gambia.
Little has happened since Biya's return, frustrating citizens who had hoped for a long-awaited government reshuffle. Experts have warned that the prolonged political stagnation is denting investor confidence in the Central African nation.
All eyes are now on whether Biya will finally name a vice president — a post abolished in 1972 but revived under a new law that lets him appoint and dismiss one. Opposition parties are sceptical, viewing it as a manoeuvre to handpick a successor. Biya has never identified or groomed an heir, though speculation continues to surround his son, Franck Biya. Without a vice president, Senate President Aboubakary Abdoulaye stands next in line should Biya be unable to govern.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.