The world’s oldest head of state, Paul Biya, extended his more than four-decade rule, securing an eighth term in Cameroon’s presidential poll, the Constitutional Council announced Monday, results which his rival swiftly rejected.
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Biya, 92, was re-elected with 53.7 percent of the vote in the central African country, according to official results announced by the council, while former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2 percent.
Tchiroma quickly denounced the announcement of Biya’s win, telling AFP that “there was no election; it was rather a masquerade. We won unequivocally”.
Tchiroma had claimed victory against the incumbent two days after the October 12 election, and called for demonstrations.
A rally outside his home in the northern city of Garoua turned deadly, he told AFP Monday, adding that two protesters were killed while some 10 snipers were posted on rooftops.
An AFP reporter on the ground saw one man shot, but AFP could not verify whether he died.
On Sunday, four people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of the opposition in the economic capital Douala, according to the region’s governor.
Security forces initially used tear gas before firing “live ammunition”, protesters told AFP.
Voter turnout stood at 46.3 percent, according to the official results announced 15 days after the election.
Cabral Libii came in third place with 3.4 percent, followed by Bello Bouba Maigari with 2.5 percent, and Hermine Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, the only woman candidate, with 1.7 percent.
The other eight candidates each received less than one percent of the vote.
Demonstrations
Public gatherings have been banned and traffic restricted in most major cities in the country since polling day.
But since last week, supporters of Tchiroma have taken to the streets to defend his claim of victory.
Citing his own tally, he claimed to have won 54.8 percent of the votes against 31.3 percent for Biya.
Tchiroma reaffirmed his certainty of having won the race in a speech last Wednesday, and called on Cameroonians to protest if the Constitutional Council announced “falsified and distorted results”.
From the early hours of Monday morning, police and security officials were stationed at major intersections and sensitive sites across the capital Yaounde.
Police said they intended to “ensure the security of the electoral process and prevent any unrest”.
Many shops and gas stations were shuttered for fear of clashes, while traffic remained unusually light.
Most analysts expected Biya to secure another seven-year term in a system that critics say is rigged.
Biya is only the second person to lead Cameroon since independence from France in 1960.
He has ruled with an iron fist, repressing all political and armed opposition, and holding onto power in the face of social upheaval, economic inequality and separatist violence.
Tchiroma’s election manifesto promised a transition period of three to five years to rebuild the country, which he said Biya had destroyed.
(FRANCE 24 and AFP)
