World oldest ruler, Paul Biya, has been re-elected as the President of Cameroon.
Biya, 92, was announced on Monday by the Cameroon’s Constitutional Council after the country’s controversial election, making him the long-serving President of the Country, extending his reigns to 50 years of service.
He was declared as the winner of the election, with 53.66% of the votes, against the 35.19% of his former ally, Issa Tchiroma Bakary.
The President of the Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, said “having obtained the majority of the votes cast, the candidate, Biya, Paul, hereby declared elected President of the Republic of Cameroon.
The announcement of the 92-year-old Paul Biya into power as the President of Cameroon sparked reactions as the opposition party joined forces with protesters across Central Africa, with the accusations of electoral fraud.
Based on the information gathered by TheFact Daily, Biya’s daughter, Brenda, was publicly seen in a viral video, urging voters to stop voting for his father, citing corruption and economic stagnation in the country.
Issa Tchiroma, Biya’s opposition, said, “This was no election, but a charade” and he’s vowing mass demonstration to what he called a “Stolen victory”.
The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) dismissed critics as “plotters,” with Minister Paul Atanga Nji insisting the process was “peaceful” and the Constitutional Council’s authority is final.
Some minutes after the election’s results were announced, Tchiroma wrote on his Facebook handle that two people were killed after shots were fired at civilians outside his home in the northern city of Garoua.
“We expect unrest to escalate as Cameroonians widely reject the official result, and we cannot see the Biya government lasting much longer,” Analyst Francois Conradie said.
“Biya now has a notably shaky mandate given that many of his own citizens don’t believe he won the election,” Murithi Mutiga, Africa Program Director at the International Crisis Group, told Reuters.
However, Biya, in a post on his official X handle, said “At this point in time when the sovereign people have once again placed their trust in me for a new term of office, my first thoughts are with all those who have unnecessarily lost their lives, as well with their families, as a result of the post-election violence.”
Meanwhile, Mutiga, called on Biya to urgently initiate a national mediation to prevent further escalation.
