Cameroon’s long-serving President Paul Biya has extended his more than four-decade rule after winning a controversial eighth term in the country’s presidential election.
The 92-year-old, who remains the world’s oldest head of state, secured 53.7 percent of the vote, according to results announced Monday by the Constitutional Council. Former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2 percent.
Tchiroma swiftly rejected the results, saying that “there was no election; it was rather a masquerade. We won unequivocally.”
He had declared victory two days after the October 12 election and urged supporters to take to the streets.
A protest outside his residence in the northern city of Garoua reportedly turned violent, with Tchiroma claiming that two demonstrators were killed and that snipers were positioned on rooftops.
Witnesses said one man was shot, though it could not be confirmed whether he died.
On Sunday, four people were also killed during clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in the economic hub, Douala, according to the regional governor.
Protesters alleged that police initially fired tear gas before resorting to live bullets.
The Constitutional Council announced a voter turnout of 46.3 percent, 15 days after the polls closed.
Cabral Libii finished third with 3.4 percent of the vote, followed by Bello Bouba Maigari with 2.5 percent, and the sole female candidate, Hermine Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, with 1.7 percent. The remaining eight candidates each garnered less than one percent.
Public gatherings and vehicular movement have been heavily restricted in most major cities since the election.
However, Tchiroma’s supporters have continued to protest, insisting that their candidate was the legitimate winner.
Citing his own figures, Tchiroma claimed to have received 54.8 percent of the votes compared to Biya’s 31.3 percent.
He reiterated his position last Wednesday, urging Cameroonians to resist if “falsified and distorted results” were released by the Constitutional Council.
Security forces were deployed early Monday to key intersections and sensitive locations across Yaoundé.
Police said their presence was intended to “ensure the security of the electoral process and prevent any unrest.”
Businesses, petrol stations, and public spaces remained largely closed amid fears of renewed clashes, as traffic in the capital was unusually light.
Many observers had predicted Biya’s victory, citing a political system long criticized as being tightly controlled and resistant to change.
Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and is only the second leader since its independence from France in 1960, continues to govern with what critics describe as an iron grip—suppressing dissent, stifling opposition, and maintaining power despite growing economic hardship, social discontent, and separatist violence.
Tchiroma, in his campaign manifesto, had promised a transitional period of three to five years aimed at rebuilding what he called a “nation destroyed by decades of misrule.”
