Cameroon sets presidential election date for October 12

Cameroon's President Paul Biya appears at a press conference at The Presidential Palace in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 26, 2022. [FILE]

Cameroon will vote in a presidential election on October 12, according to a decree issued by President Paul Biya on Friday.

Biya -- the de facto candidate of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), of which he is party leader-- has neither confirmed nor denied whether he intends to run for an eighth term.

Several longstanding supporters of Biya appear to be distancing themselves from the 92-year-old head of state, who has ruled the West African country with an iron fist for nearly 43 years.

But the opposition is deeply divided and is struggling to unite behind a single candidate.

There have been two high-profile defections from Biya's camp in recent weeks.

Employment Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary resigned from government in June to stand in the election for his Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC).

Former prime minister Bello Bouba Maigari, an ally of Biya's for nearly 30 years, said he was standing for the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP)

Both Tchiroma's and Maigari's parties were longstanding allies of Biya's CPDM, which has held power since independence in 1960.

Also in the running are Maurice Kamto, who came second in the 2018 presidential election and is Biya's fiercest critic, and prominent opposition figure Cabral Libii of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation (CPNR).

Candidates have until July 21 to declare that they intend to run for office.