Cameroon’s 92-year-old president has been controversial for the eighth time

Cameroon’s 92-year-old president has won a controversial eighth term in the hotly contested election.

Paul Biya, who is the world’s oldest head of state, won 53.7% of the vote, compared to 35.2% for opposition leader Isa Tchiroma Bakri, the Constitutional Council announced.

Before the announcement, Biya’s former ally Tchiroma Bakri insisted he had won the election, but the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) dismissed his claim.

The October 12 election was marred by deadly violence, and in recent days, hundreds of supporters of Tchiroma Bakri have broken curfews in several cities and clashed with security forces.

On Sunday, at least four people were killed during protests in Douala, Cameroon’s financial capital.

The regional governor, Samuel Dieudonné Diboua, said police posts had been attacked and security forces had defended themselves.

The unrest continued on Monday, when several people were shot dead near Tchiroma Bakri’s residence in Garua town, a local journalist at the scene told the BBC.

At the same time, the opposition leader wrote on Facebook that civilians who had gathered outside his house were being shot at. He later claimed that snipers were stationed across from his house and were “shooting at people at point-blank range”.

The authorities are yet to comment on these reports.

The ruling CPDM’s plan was to “steal victory” from Tchiroma Bakri, who it said was protesting.

In the capital Yaounde, the situation is so tense that almost all shops and schools remain closed, while most civil servants and office workers stay at home.

A total of 10 candidates were in the fray for the presidency, including former Prime Minister Bello Bauba Maigari.

58% voting was done.

At least 10 petitions alleging electoral malpractice have been rejected by the Constitutional Council.

Residents of Yaoundé are voicing their opinion on Biya’s controversial victory.

“We are at the beginning of another nightmare,” Amangwa Nicodemus told the BBC.

“The economy is collapsing, corruption is endemic, a lot of things are going wrong.”

Another resident, Abolo Denis, urged Cameroonians to accept the results, saying peace was of utmost importance.

“After the results were announced, the first thing that struck me was the silence – the graveyard silence,” said Vivian Muma from the northern city of Bamenda.

“The silence says it all. Cameroonians made a decision, but those who make the decision decided otherwise,” she said.

President Biya, who came to power in 1982, has yet to publicly address Cameroonians after being re-elected on Monday, but the governing party hailed his victory “under a sign of greatness and hope” in an online post.

He is rarely seen in public and is known to spend time outside Africa in Swiss hotels. This long absence Coupled with his advanced age, has taken, in the past He was rumored to be dead.

While his leadership was praised for the expansion of schools and public universities, and his Dealing with Bakassi disputes – who handed over the oil-rich peninsula to Cameroon instead of Nigeria – also faced criticism for his tenure.

A A violent separatist insurgency In the English-speaking West for nearly a decade, unemployment for under-35s is 40%, roads and hospitals are crumbling, and freedom of speech is limited.

Analysts have warned in recent days that Cameroon, a once peaceful country, could see political turmoil if election results do not reflect the will of the people.

“Biya now has a significantly shaky mandate because many of his own citizens do not believe he won the election,” Murithi Mutiga, Africa Program Director at the International Crisis Group, said in a statement.

“We call on BIA to urgently initiate a national intervention to prevent further escalation,” he added.