Cameroon President Biya declared election victor; challenger protests
Cameroon’s Constitutional Council has declared that President Paul Biya, leader of the country since 1982, has won re-election in a vote accompanied by deadly violence.
The council announced on Monday that 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.
“Hereby proclaimed president-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” said Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council.
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 dismissed the claim.
On Sunday, at least four people were killed in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, as security forces clashed with protesters demanding credible results.
After the results were announced, Tchiroma claimed in a post on Facebook that gunfire was being directed at civilians gathered outside his home in the northern city of Garoua.
source: Aljazeera
