Cameroon presidential election: Tchiroma says he’s won, official results awaited

Cameroon’s opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary has declared himself the winner of the country’s presidential election, despite no official results being released.

According to an Aljazeera report, citing a nearly five-minute video posted to social media early Tuesday, Tchiroma claimed victory and called on incumbent President Paul Biya, 92, to concede defeat.

“The people have chosen, and this choice must be respected,” Tchiroma was quoted as saying in the video.

The Cameroonian government reiterated earlier this week that only the Constitutional Council has the legal authority to declare official results of the presidential election. The body has almost two weeks to make the announcement.

Bakary, a former government spokesperson and longtime ally of President Biya, emerged as the leading opposition contender in Sunday’s vote.

Tchiroma resigned from the government in June and has since drawn large crowds and received endorsements from a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups.

Despite this momentum, 92-year-old President Biya — who has ruled Cameroon for 43 years and is the world’s oldest serving head of state — was widely expected to secure another seven-year term, bolstered by his firm control over state institutions and a divided opposition.

The government has yet to issue an official response to Tchiroma’s self-declared victory, made via social media on Tuesday.

However, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji recently warned that only the Constitutional Council is empowered to proclaim the election winner. He cautioned that any attempt to unilaterally declare results would be considered “high treason.”

Under Cameroonian electoral law, preliminary results may be displayed at individual polling stations, but only the Constitutional Council can validate and announce the final national tallies, according to a report by Reuters.

With inputs from agencies