The world’s oldest living president, 92-year-old Paul Biya of Cameroon, was confirmed the winner of the latest election by the nation’s top court on Monday, despite decades of protests over election irregularities that left four people dead.
Biya has been in office since 1982, and since 70 percent of Cameroon’s population is under 35, most of the country cannot remember a time when Biya was not in power. The Associated Press (AP) noted that the election on October 12 “displayed growing tensions between Africa’s youth and its many aging leaders.”
The aging leaders appear to have won this round of the growing conflict, because the Constitutional Council of Cameroon declared Biya the winner of his eighth presidential election with 53.6 percent of the vote. His rival and former ally Issa Tchiroma Bakara placed second with 35 percent.
The young people of Cameroon were not pleased when Biya announced he would run again, and even less pleased by the heavy-handed tactics he employed. The most popular opposition candidate, Maurice Kamto, was disqualified from running in July because another candidate registered under the party sponsoring his candidacy, the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM).
Kamto came in second to Biya in the 2018 election, running under the banner of a different party. Kamto claimed he would have been the rightful winner in 2018 but for election fraud. MANIDEM denounced his exclusion from the 2025 race on a technicality as “arbitrary and provocative.”
Tchiroma claimed he was the true winner of the current election with 54.8 percent of the vote to Biya’s 31.3 percent, according to results tabulated by MANIDEM. He urged people to take to the streets to protest what he saw as a rigged election.
“Our victory is clear. It must be respected,” Tchiroma said last week, before the Constitutional Council certified Biya as the winner.
“We have placed the regime before its responsibilities: either it shows greatness by accepting the truth of the ballot box, or it chooses to plunge the country into turmoil that will leave an indelible scar in the heart of our nation,” Tchiroma declared.
Protests broke out last week over allegations of election fraud, and the police responded by shooting four people dead. One of the victims was reportedly not even a participant in the protests, but a teacher on her way home from work when the police opened fire.
“Shooting point-blank at your own brothers – I can’t help but wonder if you’re mercenaries,” Tchiroma taunted security forces after two protesters were killed in his hometown of Garoua.
“Kill me if you want, but I will liberate this country by any means necessary. What blatant impunity,” Tchiroma vowed.
Dozens of protesters have been arrested over the past week and government officials said they would bring charges of treason and insurrection against those who were “plotting violent attacks.” Among the detainees was Anicet Ekane, leader of the MANIDEM party.
“The calls for demonstrations launched by certain politicians with boundless ambition undoubtedly create the conditions for a security crisis and contribute to the implementation of an insurrection plan,” Minister of Territorial Administration Atanga Nji said at a press conference on Sunday.
Biya himself rarely makes public statements these days – and indeed is rarely in Cameroon – but officials from his government denied the allegations of election fraud. The African Union (AU) said the election was “conducted largely in accordance with regional, continental, and international standards,” despite allegations from local groups of dead people showing up on voter rolls and several thwarted efforts to stuff the ballot boxes.
Protests continued on Sunday despite a government ban on public gatherings. International reporters said the protesters set up barricades, burned tires, and threw rocks at the police. Local officials said several police stations were attacked and security forces were injured.
“Many young people across the country and in the diaspora had hoped for change, but that their hopes have been dashed. It feels like a missed opportunity. Cameroon could potentially slide into anarchy,” University of Buea international relations lecturer Emile Sunjo told the AP.
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