Cameroon has had one ruler for more than four decades<\/p>\n
Cameroon\u2019s opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary has declared himself winner of the Central African country\u2019s October 12 presidential election and called on longtime leader Paul Biya to concede defeat.
\nTchiroma\u2019s claim on Tuesday came ahead of official results, which the elections body ELECAM is expected to announce by October 26.
\n\u201cThe people have chosen and this choice must be respected\u2026 We ask the regime in place to prove its greatness and to honor the truth of the ballot box,\u201d he said in a video message posted on Facebook.
\nAuthorities had warned earlier that only the Constitutional Council can proclaim the winner and that any unilateral publication of results would constitute \u201chigh treason.\u201d\u00a0
\nAccording to ELECAM, eight million people registered to vote, and 13 candidates were on the presidential ballot.
\nBiya, 92, is seeking an eighth term after 43 years in power, making him one of the world\u2019s oldest leaders and Africa\u2019s second longest-serving head of state after Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Teodoro Obiang Nguema.<\/p>\n
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The contest unfolded amid unresolved crises that have scarred Biya\u2019s record. UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned in September of \u201cgrowing restrictions on civic and democratic space\u201d ahead of the poll. He said at least 53 opposition supporters were arrested in August outside the Constitutional Council in the capital, Yaounde, during appeal hearings against decisions by the electoral authority, on charges including unlawful assembly, rebellion, and incitement to revolt.
\nUN agencies report persistent insecurity in the Anglophone regions and say the rising cost of living is driving acute food shortages, while Boko Haram continues to attack villages in the far north.<\/p>\n
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Tchiroma, a former government spokesman and minister long seen as close to Biya, broke with the administration earlier this year and emerged as an opposition standard-bearer backed by a coalition pushing a transitional agenda. During his campaign, he pledged national reconciliation, and dialogue over the Anglophone situation.
\nIn his address on Tuesday, Tchiroma said the election results \u201cclearly sanction\u201d Biya\u2019s administration and mark \u201cthe beginning of a new era\u201d in the country of 29 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cameroon has had one ruler for more than four decades Cameroon\u2019s opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary has declared himself winner of the Central African country\u2019s October 12 presidential election and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t