YAOUNDE, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's presidential race officially started on Saturday with nine contenders competing for the nation's highest office. The campaign will last for two weeks culminating in the election of the president on October 7.

The outgoing president Paul Biya, leader of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, is seeking to extend his 36 years in office by winning a new seven-year mandate.

Candidate of the leading opposition party Social Democratic Front, Joshua Osih launched his campaign in Mbanga in the Littoral region of the country. Osih advocates federalism in Cameroon to end the social and security crisis in the minority English-speaking regions.