Overview
- Cameroon’s Constitutional Council ratified Paul Biya’s reelection with 53.7% of the vote, placing Issa Tchiroma Bakary at 35.19% in official results published on October 27.
- Issa Tchiroma Bakary disputes the outcome and urged supporters to defend their vote through peaceful demonstrations.
- Witnesses cited by AFP reported the use of live ammunition by security forces in Douala, where at least four people were killed during unrest.
- Biya, 92, extends a rule that began in 1982, making him the world’s oldest serving head of state and securing an eighth seven-year term.
- Analysts and critics point to years of concentrated state control, removed term limits, corruption allegations, and an unresolved anglophone conflict as drivers of public anger.