Paul Biya Re-elected for Eighth Term as Cameroon's President at 92

Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya has been declared winner of the country’s October 12 presidential election, securing a record eighth term in office and extending his 43-year rule.

Official results announced on Monday by the Constitutional Council showed that the 92-year-old leader garnered 53.66 per cent of the votes, defeating his main challenger, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who polled 35.19 per cent.

“Hereby proclaimed President-elect: the candidate Biya Paul,” announced Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council, as the final results were read out in Yaoundé.

The victory cements Biya’s position as Africa’s oldest head of state and one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. 

His new seven-year term will keep him in power until nearly the age of 100, a tenure that began when he succeeded his mentor, Ahmadou Ahidjo, in 1982.

The election, marked by low voter turnout and rising calls for political change, has drawn mixed reactions across the country. 

Opposition groups have alleged widespread irregularities, while Biya’s supporters have celebrated what they describe as another triumph for stability.

Since last week, supporters of Issa Tchiroma had taken to the streets to protest what they claim was a stolen mandate. 

According to their own figures, Tchiroma won 54.8 per cent of the votes against Biya’s 31.3 per cent. 

Demonstrations in the commercial hub, Douala, turned violent on Sunday, with protesters barricading roads and burning tyres. Security forces responded with teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.

Biya’s enduring rule has been both praised and condemned with supporters hailing his role in expanding education and managing the peaceful resolution of the Bakassi Peninsula dispute with Nigeria, which returned the oil-rich territory to Cameroon in 2008.

However, critics say his administration has become increasingly authoritarian, accusing him of electoral manipulation, corruption, and political repression. 

Under his watch, Cameroon has battled a violent separatist insurgency in its English-speaking regions for nearly a decade, while youth unemployment remains around 40 per cent.

Analysts note that Biya’s latest victory showed the challenges facing democratic renewal in Cameroon, where he remains only the second president since independence from France in 1960.