Paul Biya re-elected at 92
Cameroon’s electoral commission has confirmed that the elderly Paul Biya has once again won the presidential election with between 53 and 54% of the votes, after 43 years in power.
This means that the most world’s oldest serving president will continue leading the Central African nation until he turns 100 years old.
Paul Biya, aged 92, faced opposition candidates including Issa Tchiroma Bakary, one of his main critics, who on October 12 had declared himself the winner of the election.
When the electoral commission announced that Biya had won, Tchiroma rejected the results, insisting that he was the one who had actually won with around 60% of the votes.
Paul Biya has been on power since 1982, meaning that by the end of this new term, he will have completed 50 years in power and will be 100 years old.
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Here are the 10 longest-serving leaders in Africa as of 2025:
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – Equatorial Guinea: In power since August 1979, he is Africa’s longest-serving president, having led his country for about 46 years.
- Paul Biya – Cameroon: Took office in November 1982, and has been president for 43 years.
- Denis Sassou Nguesso – Republic of Congo-Brazzaville: First ruled from 1979 to 1992, returned in 1997, and has now been in power for about 41 years in total.
- Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – Uganda: Seized power in January 1986 after a guerrilla war and has now ruled for 39 years.
- Isaias Afwerki – Eritrea: Became president when Eritrea gained independence in 1993, giving him 32 years in office.
- King Mswati III – Eswatini (formerly Swaziland): Although a monarch and not an elected president, Mswati III has ruled since April 1986, marking 39 years on the throne.
- Ismaïl Omar Guelleh – Djibouti: Has been in power since May 1999, serving for 26 years.
- Paul Kagame – Rwanda: Became president in 2000, though he was one of the key leaders of the government after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He has now served 25 years as president.
- Faure Gnassingbé – Togo: Took over after his father’s death in 2005, and has been president for 20 years.
- Abdel Fattah el-Sisi – Egypt: Came to power in 2014 after a military coup and has ruled for 11 years.
