Sawt Falasteen - Incumbent absent as Cameroon presidential campaigning picks up

The 92-year-old -- the world's oldest head of state, in power since 1982 -- is seeking an eighth term in office.

But he left Cameroon a week ago on a "private trip" to Europe, according to his office. Diplomatic sources have said the leader, who is rarely seen in public, was in Geneva.

Campaigning started on Saturday and continued on Sunday with Biya's main rivals holding rallies.

Cabral Libii, candidate of the opposition Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN), held his under light rain in the coastal city of Douala.

A former tourism minister, Bello Bouba Maigari, who is also running, roused several hundred National Union for Democracy and Progress party members in his own rally, alongside another candidate, Akere Muna, who has dropped out of the race and given him his support.

A total of 12 candidates were cleared to vie for the presidency, including Biya.

The outgoing president has not directly addressed his fellow citizens since July 13, when he announced his candidacy on the social media platform X.

Biya -- who is seen as a favourite to win, given the divided opposition -- was embarrassed on September 17 when his daughter Brenda Biya posted a video to TikTok urging her followers to abandon her father.

She later deleted the video and posted an apology.

A 2018 investigation of economic crime by a consortium of journalists found Paul Biya had spent some 4.5 years of his presidency abroad, largely in Switzerland, at an estimated cost of $65 million.

The president failed to show as scheduled at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, represented instead by his foreign minister.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST