Media: Cameroon president’s “short trip” turns into two-month absence

Cameroon President Paul Biya marked two months on August 6 since he was last inside the country, with his prolonged absence fueling concerns over his health and criticism that it could leave the Central African nation facing a power vacuum, ABC News reports.

The world’s oldest president, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, began his eighth term after winning a widely disputed election in November. However, the 93-year-old left the country on June 7 for what his office described as “a brief private stay in Europe,” which has since become one of his longest overseas trips.

Questions about Biya’s health have long been a subject of speculation, as he spends significant periods in Europe, including in France and Switzerland, where he often stays for weeks while leaving governance in the hands of senior party officials and family members.

Cameroon’s constitution does not specifically prohibit the president from staying outside the country for months. However, because there is no vice president — an appointment that Biya has full authority to make — the opposition has described the country as being run on “auto pilot.”

Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who finished second to Biya in November’s presidential election and is a former ally of the president, said there is a widespread perception in Cameroon that “all is not well” with Biya, whose prolonged absence has angered the opposition.

By Jeyhun Aghazada