Cameroon's presidential election kicks off

Voting for Cameroon's presidential election started early on Sunday as voters queued up outside polling stations across the country.

According to the Cameroonian electoral body, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), more than 8 million voters are set to cast their votes in over 31,000 polling stations.

Voting began at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and will end at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT). Voters are choosing between incumbent President Paul Biya and nine opposition candidates.

According to the country's Electoral Code, the results of the election will be proclaimed by the Constitutional Council within no more than 15 days after the close of the poll.

The Electoral Code stipulates a single round of voting, where the candidate with the most votes wins, without the need for a majority.

Voting is still up in the air in the restive Southwest and Northwest Anglophone regions, where armed separatists have vowed to disrupt the polls, an ELECAM official in the Southwest told Xinhua.