Cameroon’s Constitutional Council has announced President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, as the winner of the October 12 presidential poll in the East Africa country.
The council made the announcement of the official results on Monday, October 27, making Biya emerge as the president for the eight time.
Biya’s victory comes a week after the country’s opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, once a close ally and former minister under Biya, declared himself the winner, calling on Biya to concede defeat and “honour the truth of the ballot box”.
The ICIR reported that Bakary described the election results as “a clear rejection” of Biya’s administration and “the dawn of a new era.”
Hundreds of opposition supporters took to the streets of Cameroon’s commercial capital on Sunday, barricading roads and burning tyres as tensions escalated ahead of the official announcement of the election results, with supporters accusing the government of plotting to manipulate the outcome.
Reports indicated that the police used teargas and water cannons to disperse crowds backing opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma, and the unrest spread across several cities following partial results from local media indicating that Biya was leading.
The government had dismissed allegations of vote rigging and urged citizens to remain calm until the final results are released. Similar clashes were reported in other parts of Douala and in Tchiroma’s hometown, Garoua.
The ICIR reported in 2018, that Biya, won the election by a landslide to rule for seven years. He was 85 at the time.
The latest victory gives him another seven years in office and bolsters his place as one of Africa’s longest serving rulers after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea who is in his thirty-ninth year in office.
He won 71.3 per cent of the votes, but opposition candidates have said the election was marred by widespread fraud, a low turnout and violence.
Biya, who at 92 is the world’s oldest sitting president, has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and sought another seven-year mandate in the October 12 elections, even though his age, health and capacity to govern have become a subject of debate. Another seven-year term would extend his rule until he nears 100.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.