Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, secured another seven-year term in office with the victory.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Cameroon President, Paul Biya, has been re-elected for an eighth term that could keep him in office until he is nearly 100 years old.
The election result was announced on Monday by the Central African country’s Constitutional Council.
According to the body, Biya won 53.7 percent of the vote, while his main challenger, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former government spokesperson and ex-employment minister, came second with 35.2 percent of total votes cast.
“Hereby proclaimed President-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” Clement Atangana, president of the council said while declaring the winner.
Biya, 92, took office in 1982 and has held a tight grip on power ever since, doing away with the presidential term limit in 2008 and winning re-election by comfortable margins.
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Earlier this year, Tchiroma, who is in his late 70s, broke ranks with Biya and mounted a campaign that drew large crowds and endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.
Since last week, supporters of the former minister, who, according to his own tally, won 54.8 percent of the votes against 31.3 percent for Biya, took to the streets to defend his claimed victory.
According to AFP, some of those interviewed during the protest alleged security forces initially used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators before firing “live ammunition.”
While commenting on the protest, the region’s governor noted that four people were killed on Sunday in clashes between security forces and supporters of the opposition in the economic capital Douala.
With the victory, Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, secured another seven-year term in office.
He is the second head of state to lead Cameroon since its independence from France in 1960.
