92-year-old Cameroon president controversially wins eighth term

Cameroon’s 92-year-old president has controversially won an eighth term in a contested election.

Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, received 53.7% of the vote, while opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary received 35.2%.

Before the announcement, former Biya ally Chiroma Bakari claimed he had won the election, but his claims were dismissed by the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).

The October 12 election was marred by deadly violence, and more recently hundreds of Ciroma Bakari supporters defied a ban on demonstrations in several cities and clashed with security forces.

At least four people were killed Sunday during protests in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala.

Regional governor Samuel Dieudonné Diboua said a police post was attacked and security forces defended themselves.

Rioting continued on Monday when many people were shot dead near Chiroma Bakari’s home in the city of Garoua, a local journalist at the scene told the BBC.

At the same time, the opposition leader wrote on Facebook that shots were fired at civilians gathered outside his house. He later claimed that a sniper had been stationed in a house across the street from his and was “firing at close range at people.”

Authorities have not yet commented on the report.

Protesters accused the ruling CPDM of planning to “steal victory” from Tchiroma Bakary.

In the capital Yaounde, the situation was so tense that almost all shops and schools were closed and most civil servants and office workers stayed at home.

A total of 10 presidential candidates, including former Prime Minister Bello Buba Maigari, are running.

Voter turnout was 58%.

More than 10 petitions alleging violations of election law were dismissed by the Constitutional Committee.

Yaoundé residents have been voicing their opinions on Villa’s controversial victory.

“We are at the beginning of another nightmare,” Amungwa Nicodemus told the BBC.

“The economy is in decline, corruption is rampant and a lot of things are going wrong.”

Another resident, Abolo Denis, said peace was paramount and urged Cameroonians to accept the outcome.

“The first thing that struck me after the results were announced was the silence in the cemetery,” said Vivian Muma from the northern city of Bamenda.

“Silence says it all. Cameroonians decided, but those making the decisions decided differently,” she said.

President Biya, who took power in 1982, has yet to publicly address Cameroonians following his re-election on Monday, but the ruling party welcomed his victory “under a sign of greatness and hope” in an online post.

He rarely appears in public and is known for spending time outside Africa in Swiss hotels. Due to his long absence and his advanced age, there were rumors in the past that he was dead.

His leadership has been praised for the expansion of schools and public universities and for his handling of the Bakassi dispute, which handed the oil-rich peninsula to Cameroon instead of Nigeria, but his tenure has also faced criticism.

A violent separatist insurgency has persisted in the English-speaking west for nearly a decade, with unemployment among under-35s reaching 40%, roads and hospitals in disrepair and freedom of the press restricted.

Analysts recently warned that Cameroon, once a peaceful country, could fall into political chaos if election results do not reflect the will of the people.

“Biya currently has a noticeably unstable mandate, given that many of his citizens do not believe he has won the election,” Murithi Mutiga, Africa program director at the International Crisis Group, said in a statement.

“We urge Biya to urgently initiate national intervention to prevent further escalation,” he added.

With additional reporting by Natasha Booty