WORLD’S OLDEST LEADER, PAUL BIYA, 92, EXTENDS 42-YEAR RULE IN CAMEROON AMID DEADLY PROTESTS
Deadly clashes and opposition claims of fraud mar the election as the 92-year-old leader secures another term, extending his rule in a nation where most citizens have never known another president.
Cameroon’s Constitutional Council on Monday declared 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president, the winner of a controversial election, extending his 42-year rule in a vote marred by deadly clashes and widespread opposition claims of fraud.
The official result, which gives Biya 53.66% of the vote, sets the stage for another seven-year term and follows a tense weekend in which security forces shot dead at least four protesters. Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who received 35.19% of the vote according to the court, alleged that two people were killed by gunfire in his northern hometown of Garoua.
“Kill me if you want, but I will liberate this country by any means necessary,” Tchiroma declared in a social media post, directly addressing the authorities. “What blatant impunity.”
The election has exposed a deep generational rift in the Central African nation, where over 70% of the population is under the age of 35 and has never known another leader. Biya first came to power in 1982 and benefited from a constitutional amendment that abolished presidential term limits.
“Nothing will change,” said Sani Aladji, a 28-year-old hotel worker in Maroua who voted for Tchiroma. “There’s rampant corruption under Biya’s regime. We are tired of that. We don’t have roads.”
The lead-up to the announcement was volatile. Hundreds of opposition supporters took to the streets in cities including Douala, Garoua, and Maroua, barricading roads and clashing with police, who responded with tear gas. The governor of the Littoral region reported that over 100 protesters were arrested and several security personnel were injured.
Critics accuse Biya’s government of using state machinery to manipulate the election and disqualify his strongest rivals. The president, who spends significant time abroad, has also overseen a nation grappling with multiple crises, including a deadly secessionist insurgency in its English-speaking regions that has killed nearly 7,000 people and displaced over a million.
“Many young people across the country and in the diaspora had hoped for change, but their hopes have been dashed,” said Dr. Emile Sunjo, a senior lecturer in international relations at the University of Buea. “It feels like a missed opportunity. Cameroon could potentially slide into anarchy.”
With the official results confirmed, the nation now watches to see if the opposition’s defiance will evolve into a sustained challenge to one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers.
Source:NKONKONSA.com
