Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, who has led the country since 1982, has won a re-election, according to official results.
The Constitutional Council said on Monday the 92-year-old incumbent had secured 53.66 percent of the vote in the October 12 election. Opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma received 35.19 percent, it added.
Tchiroma, a former government spokesperson and minister in his late 70s, had claimed victory days before the announcement, citing results he said were collated by his party. Biya ruled out the claim. On Sunday, at least four people were killed in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, as security forces clashed with protesters when opposition supporters rallied to demand credible results.
Rival candidate and former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2%, the council said. Chiroma had claimed victory against the incumbent two days after the October 12 election.
He can now rule until 2032 thanks to his reelection. The outcomes were made public a day after four protesters were shot to death in Douala, the economic capital, and hundreds of people stormed the streets of several cities, making over 100 arrests. “Hereby proclaimed President-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” said Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council.
has held a tight grip on power ever since, doing away with the presidential term limit in 2008 and winning reelection by comfortable margins.
This year his strongest challenge came from Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former government spokesperson and employment minister in his late 70s who broke ranks with Biya earlier this year and mounted a campaign that drew large crowds and endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.
