Vote counting is underway in Cameroon following Sunday’s presidential election, in which incumbent Paul Biya seeks to extend his 43 years in power. Biya, 92, the world’s oldest head of state, is being challenged by nine candidates. If re-elected, it would mark his eighth consecutive term, with the next election due in 2032.
Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji reported that voting took place “hitch-free” across the country. However, there were calls for a boycott in the English-speaking regions in the west, and reports of clashes in the north. The final result is expected within 15 days of the vote.
In the run-up to the election, the opposition raised complaints of attempts to suppress their support. In August, the Constitutional Council barred 71-year-old Maurice Kamto, widely viewed as the main challenger, from participating.
On Sunday, angry supporters of leading opposition candidate and former Biya ally Issa Tchiroma Bakary, 76, took to the streets in his stronghold of Garoua. They clashed with security forces, who fired tear gas, after his residence was cordoned off. Earlier in the day, Tchiroma said he had been threatened, declaring:
“It is not Tchiroma who is the problem. I place myself under the protection of God and the Cameroonian people. I am at home; I will not move. If they intend to come and take me away from home, I will not move.”
Despite the unrest, Interior Minister Nji stated that polls were held without major incidents in all 10 regions of the country. He did not comment specifically on the Garoua situation but reiterated that some presidential candidates had planned to publish election results ahead of the official declaration, calling this a major red line and warning of action against anyone breaking the law.
In the two restive Anglophone regions, where separatists attempted to bar residents from voting, some citizens did turn out at polling stations, though many stayed away for fear of reprisals.
—BBC
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