Biya faces Cameroon succession pressure after 74-day absence

Cameroon President Paul Biya, 93, returned to Yaounde on Aug. 20 after 74 days abroad, Al Jazeera reported in an Oct. 23 news article, reviving succession questions.

The stakes are institutional: Biya was re-elected to an eighth term in disputed elections in October 2025, after a 2024 absence of 42 days, according to the report.

Biya had been in Geneva since June 7 on what his office called a “short private stay”. Officials denied reports during his absence that he had been hospitalised at a Geneva clinic, while reports that he had died remained unconfirmed.

Al Jazeera reported that images of Biya’s return showed him waving from a presidential limousine and greeting Prime Minister Joseph Ngute. The report said many Cameroonians were not reassured by the limited footage of the president after more than two months away.

The absence sharpened attention on the vice presidency, a post abolished in 1972 and restored by parliament in April. Under the new law described by Al Jazeera, the president can appoint and remove the vice president, who would complete the rest of the president’s seven-year term if Biya could not continue.

Biya has led Cameroon since 1982 under the Cameroon People’s Democratic Party, or RDPC. Al Jazeera described him as Africa’s oldest leader and said Cameroonians under 30 account for 70% of the country’s 30 million people.

The report said Boko Haram attacks have persisted in Cameroon’s north and separatists remain active in the west. It also said the economy has largely stagnated despite oil wealth, while opposition leaders have accused Biya of running the country on “autopilot”.

His disputed re-election last year triggered protests that security forces suppressed. Rights groups said at least 48 people were killed, according to Al Jazeera. Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who said he had won the vote, went into exile in The Gambia.

Biya has not announced a new cabinet or appointed a vice president since the election. While he was abroad, his office issued decrees promoting five colonels and reorganising military transfers, Al Jazeera reported.

The ruling party dismissed concerns during Biya’s absence and said there was no constitutional or political vacuum. Opposition parties have criticised the restored vice presidency as undemocratic, saying it would obstruct elections, according to the report.

If no vice president is appointed, Senate President Aboubakary Abdoulaye would be next in line to lead until elections could be held, according to Al Jazeera. Analysts cited by the outlet identified Secretary-General Ferdinand Ngoh-Ngoh, described as the “de facto president”, as a possible vice president-in-waiting.

The report also identified Biya’s son, Franck Biya, as a potential figure with support from his father’s base in southern and central Cameroon, while noting that he lacks political experience. Biya has not publicly named or prepared a successor.