By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Cameroon’s National Vote Counting Commission has declared incumbent President Paul Biya winner of the October 12 presidential election after he polled 53.66% of the vote, ahead of his opponent Issa Tchiroma Bakary.
The results were declared on Tuesday following days of compilation by the electoral commission.
Meanwhile, Bakary has rejected the results, highlighting a tally that would place him in the lead with approximately 60% of the vote cast.
“I want to say this with gravity and simplicity: the people have made their choice. And that choice must be respected,” he said in a statement just two days after the election.
He released his own tally on Sunday, maintaining that he had a clear lead over Biya with about 60% of the votes.
Tchiroma has called official figures inaccurate and called for greater transparency.
The controversy has stirred tensions in Cameroon. Demonstrations erupted across the country in recent days, with some protesters accusing authorities of electoral fraud.
The opposition candidate has also denounced several irregularities during the election, such as the falsification of ballots, the modification or substitution of pages in the records, as well as discrepancies between the data transmitted by polling stations and those transmitted by the electoral administration.
He also noted mathematical inconsistencies in some records, with voting percentages exceeding 100 percent deemed incompatible with demographic data.
Bakary has submitted formal requests to the Constitutional Council and departmental electoral commissions to verify the integrity of documents and suspend any proclamation based on falsified minutes.
The Constitutional Council is expected to publish official results by 26 October.
If validated, the outcome would see Biya, 92 extend his 42-year rule in Cameroon. He is one of the longest-serving leaders in Africa.
