Paul Biya, 92, re-elected for eighth term as world’s oldest president

Paul Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, has secured a controversial eighth term as Cameroon’s president, extending his decades-long rule that could see him remain in power until nearly 100.

The constitutional council declared that Biya, 92, won 53.66 per cent of the vote, while his main rival and former ally, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, received 35.19 per cent. Biya first took office in 1982 and has maintained a firm grip on power ever since, scrapping term limits in 2008 and consistently winning re-election.

Cameroon has been tense in recent weeks awaiting results. Four people were killed on Sunday in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in Douala, the country’s economic hub.

Tchiroma, who had claimed victory two days after the 12 October vote, said his own tally — based on what he described as 80 per cent of the electorate — showed he won 54.8 per cent to Biya’s 31.3 per cent. He warned of protests if “falsified and distorted results” were announced. The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement rejected his claims, urging patience for the official count.

Tensions are especially high in Garoua, Tchiroma’s hometown, where groups of young men on motorcycles gathered near his home amid rumours of an impending arrest. Protests have also erupted in Yaoundé, Bafoussam and Douala. In a video posted over the weekend, Tchiroma claimed that security forces had tried to storm his residence.

Biya, only the second leader of Cameroon since its independence from France in 1960, has ruled with an iron hand — suppressing dissent, quelling separatist movements and weathering repeated social and economic crises.