MAROUA, Cameroon (AFP) — Cameroon’s President Paul Biya on Monday made his first major appearance of the election campaign in his run for an eighth straight term as the world’s oldest head of state.

With five days to go before the vote, Biya — aged 92, and in power since 1982 — addressed supporters at a stadium in Maroua, in the Far North region, AFP journalists saw. It was his first public appearance since May of this year.

“My determination to serve you remains intact,” he told the crowd of several hundred supporters from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement. “I ask you once again for your precious support.”

His 25-minute speech focused on youth, women and infrastructure.

“My goal is for every young person, wherever they are, to easily find a job or start a business. No young person, whether they are a graduate or not, will be left behind,” he said.

Organisers said nearly 25,000 people were expected at the rally, but only a few hundred showed up, AFP correspondents present estimated.

Maroua, a city bordering Nigeria and Chad, is a key electoral battleground with 1.22 million registered voters, but regularly affected by attacks from the jihadist group Boko Haram.

Maurice Kamto, an opposition figure whose candidacy was rejected in August, has called on voters “to vote freely” after the failure of discussions for a unified opposition candidacy.