JUST IN: Tchiroma Claims Presidential Election Win As Cameroonian Awaits Official Results

JUST IN: Tchiroma Claims Presidential Election Win As Cameroonian Awaits Official Results

Cameroon’s opposition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, on Tuesday declared victory over long-serving President Paul Biya, who has ruled for 43 years, even as official results from Sunday’s election are not expected for another two weeks.

“Our victory is clear. It must be respected,” Tchiroma declared in a post on Facebook, calling on the government to “accept the truth of the ballot box” or “plunge the country into turmoil”, and promising to publish detailed results by region.

“The people have chosen,” he added.

Although tally sheets can be made public, the final results are reserved for announcement by the Constitutional Council — a boundary the government warns “must not be crossed.”

In 2018, opposition figure Maurice Kamto similarly proclaimed himself winner shortly after voting ended, an action that led to his arrest and the violent dispersal of his supporters’ rallies with tear gas and water cannons.

Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, is seeking yet another term in office.

However, Tchiroma, a former employment minister, has stirred surprising excitement among voters, creating a tense standoff as both camps claim victory.

Images of vote tallies on sheets and blackboards have flooded social media, intensifying the competing victory claims from supporters of both Biya and Tchiroma.