Rallies in Cameroon after rival rejects 92-year-old Biya's win / Photo: Daniel BELOUMOU OLOMO - AFP
Rallies in Cameroon after rival rejects 92-year-old Biya's win
Hundreds of Cameroonians took to the streets in protest on Monday after the world's oldest head of state, Paul Biya, was proclaimed to have won an eighth term extending his more than four-decade rule.
Biya, 92, was re-elected with 53.7 percent of the vote in the central African country, according to official results announced by the Constitutional Council, while former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2 percent.
Hundreds heeded Tchiroma's call to rally against Biya in the economic capital Douala and his northern hometown of Garoua on Monday evening, despite restrictions, with security forces reportedly moving in to break up the latest demonstrations.
Similar demonstrations turned deadly over the weekend, with four people reported killed.
Tchiroma swiftly denounced the announcement of Biya's win on Monday, telling AFP that "there was no election; it was rather a masquerade. We won unequivocally".
Violence in the aftermath of the closer-than-expected ballot has raised fears that the unrest could escalate in the former French colony in central Africa.
A rally outside Tchiroma's home in Garoua turned deadly, the politician told AFP Monday before the fresh demonstrations, adding that two protesters were killed while some 10 snipers were posted on rooftops.
An AFP reporter on the ground saw one man shot, but AFP could not verify whether he died.
On Sunday, four people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of the opposition in the economic capital Douala, according to the region's governor.
Security forces used tear gas before firing "live ammunition", protesters told AFP.
Voter turnout stood at 46.3 percent, according to the official results announced 15 days after the election.
Cabral Libii came in third place with 3.4 percent, followed by Bello Bouba Maigari with 2.5 percent, and Hermine Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, the sole woman to run, with 1.7 percent.
The other eight candidates each received less than one percent of the vote.
- Demonstrations -
The United Nations on Monday urged the authorities to probe the violence at the protests.
"We've been receiving shocking reports of people killed, injured or arrested since yesterday in protests linked to today's announcement of the presidential election results," the UN rights office said on X, calling for "restraint, investigations and an end to the violence".
In a social media post reacting to his victory, Biya lamented the deaths.
"At a time when the sovereign people have once again placed their trust in me for a new term of office, my first thoughts go out to all those who have needlessly lost their lives and to their families as a result of the post-election violence," he wrote on X.
Public gatherings have been banned and traffic restricted in most major cities in the country since polling day.
But since last week, Tchiroma supporters have taken to the streets to defend his claim of victory.
Citing his own tally, he claimed to have won 54.8 percent of the votes against 31.3 percent for Biya.
Last Wednesday, he called on Cameroonians to protest if the Constitutional Council announced "falsified and distorted results".
From the early hours of Monday morning, police and security officials were stationed at major intersections and sensitive sites across the capital Yaounde.
Many shops and gas stations were shuttered for fear of clashes, while traffic remained unusually light.
Most analysts expected Biya to secure another seven-year term in a system that critics say is rigged.
He has ruled with an iron fist, repressing all political and armed opposition, and holding onto power in the face of social upheaval, economic inequality and separatist violence.
M.Sutherland--NG
