Cameroon: Opposition Rejects Incumbent's Reelection

Opposition Rejects Incumbent’s Re-Election, Raising Fears of More Election Unrest Cameroon Cameroon’s opposition leaders this week rejected the results of the Oct. 12 presidential election that extended President Paul Biya’s four-decade rule, setting the stage for potential post-election unrest in a country already battling a separatist conflict, Reuters reported Tuesday. On Monday, the country’s constitutional council declared Biya, 92, as the winner with more than 53 percent of the vote. The announcement followed the council’s dismissal of eight petitions alleging electoral fraud, including ballot stuffing. The council’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed, with observers saying they expect more violence to break out. Sporadic protests erupted nationwide ahead of the official results and turned violent over the weekend. Supporters of the main opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, clashed with police and blocked roads in the commercial capital, Douala. At least six people were killed during demonstrations on Sunday and Monday, according to the opposition. On Tuesday, Cameroonian authorities vowed legal action against Tchiroma, accusing him of fomenting the unrest, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Tchiroma and other opposition candidates have rejected the vote’s outcome and accused the constitutional council of being “nothing more than the rubber stamp of a tyranny.” Former presidential candidate Akere Muna pointed to suspiciously high turnout figures in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions – where a separatist insurgency has raged since 2017 – as evidence of manipulation. The European Union expressed “deep concern” about the polls, the unrest, and the police crackdown on protests. Meanwhile, Tchiroma has urged his supporters at home and abroad to march peacefully to “liberate Cameroon.” He previously declared himself the winner and published a tally on social media showing he won around 55 percent of the vote, based on what he claimed were returns representing 80 percent of the electorate, according to the BBC. Tchiroma warned that he would not accept any other outcome. Biya and government officials have repeatedly rejected the allegations of fraud, while also dismissing Tchiroma’s claims as illegal because only the constitutional council can proclaim official results. Biya, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, has ruled Cameroon since 1982. If he finishes this eighth term, which ends in 2032, he will be almost 100 years old.