Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 92, has confirmed he will run for an eighth term in power. Biya has been ramping up his online presence for several months, posting daily on Facebook and X, marking a departure from his previous occasional presence. However, experts say his attempts to win over young people ahead of October’s election may be falling flat.
Most people living in Cameroon today hadn’t even been born yet when Biya became president in 1982. Cameroon has over 5.4 million social media users, but 95% of young people rely on WhatsApp, a platform where presidential communication is nearly non-existent. Biya’s team is now publishing excerpts from more than 300 speeches he has delivered over the decades, but this approach does not appear to have ignited much enthusiasm.
Unemployment is high in Cameroon, with even the most qualified young people struggling to find work. Corruption and security are also key concerns. Instead of focusing on those issues, many posts on Biya’s social media accounts emphasize his track record during 43 years in power. Scepticism and sarcasm are in greater evidence online, with comments below recent posts including “It looks like he’s discovering the internet in 2025, but it’s primarily an electoral market test” and “Cameroonians want roads, not hashtags”.
Biya will have to wait until the election in October to see if these efforts will translate into more young people voting for him. Editing and additional reporting by Natasha Booty.
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