LIBREVILLE: Cameroon’s opposition challenger Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed election victory on Tuesday against incumbent President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 43 years.
Official results for the weekend vote are not expected for two weeks despite Tchiroma’s declaration.
“Our victory is clear. It must be respected,“ Tchiroma declared in a post on Facebook.
He urged the government to “accept the truth of the ballot box” or “plunge the country into turmoil”.
Tchiroma promised to publish detailed results by region while asserting that “the people have chosen”.
While the tally sheets are allowed to be published, final official results must be announced by the country’s Constitutional Council.
The government described this as a “red line that must not be crossed”.
In the 2018 presidential election, opposition challenger Maurice Kamto declared himself winner the day after the vote.
Kamto was subsequently arrested and his supporters’ rallies were dispersed with tear gas and water cannon.
Dozens of Kamto’s supporters were arrested following his 2018 victory claim.
Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, is vying for an eighth term to extend his decades in power.
Former employment minister Tchiroma generated unexpected enthusiasm among voters in the central African nation.
A political duel had been emerging with supporters on both sides claiming victory before official results.
Images of sheets and blackboards tallying the results have circulated on social media.
These images have fuelled the victory claims among both Biya and Tchiroma’s camps.
Biya faced 11 opponents including Tchiroma, who resigned from the government in June.
Tchiroma joined the opposition after 20 years at Biya’s side in government.
He became the leading challenger after Kamto was barred from standing by the Constitutional Council.
Biya has been in power since 1982 and has won every election in the past 20 years.
He consistently secured more than 70% of the vote in previous elections.
Most of the eight million eligible Cameroonian voters have only known one ruler in their lifetime.
Cameroonian political scientist Stephane Akoa told AFP before the vote that “we shouldn’t be naive”.
Akoa stated that “we know full well the ruling system has ample means at its disposal to get results in its favour”.
He said that the campaign had been “much livelier” during the final days than usual.
Akoa noted the vote was “therefore more likely to throw up surprises” given the campaign’s intensity.
When Biya first became president in 1982, US president Ronald Reagan’s era was in full swing.
The Cold War had nearly a decade to run when Biya assumed power.
Biya is Cameroon’s second head of state since independence from France in 1960.
He has ruled with an iron fist, personally appointing and dismissing key officials.
Biya has ruthlessly repressed all political and armed opposition throughout his rule.
He has succeeded in holding onto power through social upheaval and economic disparity.
Biya has maintained control despite separatist violence challenging his government. – AFP
