I am a candidate – Paul Biya.

Biya announced his candidacy through a message on his official social media handles at nightfall yesterday, insisting that he still has much to offer the Cameroonian populace.

According to the Head of State, he will be seeking to succeed himself at the helm of State, given the ceaseless calls from supporters at home and abroad, who have been asking him to stay on.

Biya presented himself as the man with the experience needed to   lead Cameroon through a global era full of complexities and unending challenges. 

The CPDM National President said he is ready to continue serving.

“I have therefore decided to heed the numerous and insistent calls from the ten Regions of our country and from the diaspora. I am a candidate for the 12 October 2025 presidential election,” Biya wrote yesterday, before underscoring that: “Rest assured that my determination to serve you is commensurate with the serious challenges facing us”.

Giving hints on what he intends to do if re-elected Head of State, Biya, in yesterday’s declaration, cited women and youth as key areas of focus. 

“The well-being of our youth and women will be at the heart of my priorities,” Biya noted, adding that: “Together, there are no challenges we cannot meet. The best is still to come”. 

The Head of State, in his message, said he has remained attached to ensuring the wellbeing of every citizen of Cameroon since he assumed the highest office of the land in 1982.

With the increasing interest in the country’s future and what is left to be done, Biya said he cannot abandon the mission of service to a people and nation so dear to him.

“Ensuring the security and well-being of sons and daughters of our beloved and beautiful country is the sacred duty to which I have devoted my time and energy, since assuming the helm of State,” he stated. 

‘Much still to be done’

Apparently banking on what he considers great strides in leading the country, Biya affirmed that: “The results are palpable, visible and laudable”. 

Beyond patting himself on the back, Biya acknowledged the support he has been receiving from citizens.

“Thank you for the massive support you have continued to give me in this endeavour,” he quipped, before reminding all of the work that lies ahead. “However, much remains to be done,” he said. 

‘Can’t give up in face of pressing challenges’

Without painting a perfect image of how far he has led Cameroon and the complexities of today’s world, Biya averred that he is counting on his experience to write yet another chapter for Cameroon.

“In the face of an increasingly difficult international environment, the challenges facing us are more and more pressing,” he asserted, before emphatically stating that: “In such a situation, I cannot shirk my mission”.

Not yet time to return to village 

Biya’s declaration of candidacy yesterday puts to rest longtime analysis about his political future. The Head of State will be seeking an eight mandate after leaving everyone to make varied analysis of his political journey.

Beyond the assurances from his aides these last few days, Biya first hinted in in July 2022, in ambiguous terms, what 2025 was going to look like. 

Then, he had, while responding to a question from a French journalist who had accompanied President Emmanuel Macron to Cameroon, declared that he still had three years left on his mandate to decide.

Among other things, he had said when the time come, he would inform everyone whether he is staying on or going back to the village. 

After declaring his interest, Biya is expected to, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Code, deposit his file at Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, latest midnight of July 22, 2025.