Cameroon’s opposition figure and former minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has urged citizens to take to the streets if the Constitutional Council announces what he called “falsified and distorted” results from the country’s presidential election.
The appeal comes amid growing tension following the October 12 vote, in which 92-year-old President Paul Biya is seeking an eighth term after more than four decades in power. The poll has already been marred by widespread allegations of fraud and irregularities.
Tchiroma, who also contested the election, claims his campaign’s own count shows he won with 54.8 percent of the vote, ahead of Biya’s reported 31.3 percent. His supporters have staged sporadic demonstrations in several cities since last week to celebrate what they describe as a stolen victory.
Authorities have since imposed bans on public gatherings and restricted motorcycle taxi movement in key areas as the nation awaits the official results, expected by Monday evening.
In a video posted on Facebook, Tchiroma said Cameroonians “will never accept” any attempt to validate what he described as a fraudulent outcome.
“If they choose to endanger the peace of the country rather than accept defeat, we will respond with the peaceful determination of the people,” he said. “Let us march for liberation and to claim our victory.”
Meanwhile, the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) dismissed Tchiroma’s claims as “a grotesque hoax” and “an unacceptable fraud in a state of law.” The party said it remained confident and was “calmly awaiting the official results.”