Cameroon votes in presidential polls as conflict rages

Cameroonians are voting in crunch presidential polls on Sunday, with octogenarian leader Paul Biya seeking a seventh term against a backdrop of unprecedented violence in the country's English-speaking regions.

The vote follows a last-minute opposition unity bid to dislodge the 85-year-old incumbent, one of Africa's longest-serving rulers.

Two leading opponents have formed the first electoral union since 1992, but talks between the array of other opposition parties to create a "super-coalition" to deny Biya another seven years were apparently fruitless.

In the Bastos public school in the capital Yaounde, where Biya will later cast his vote, voting was brisk throughout the morning.

"I feel proud," said Patrick, 38, an airport worker after voting. "I want the next president to consolidate what we have achieved in Cameroon. I want the elections to pass off peacefully, that's my only hope for the polls."