Issa Tchiroma
President Paul Biya
By agency reports
Cameroon’s opposition challenger Issa Tchiroma on Tuesday claimed election victory against incumbent President Paul Biya, and urged the 92-year-old Biya, who has been in power for 43 years, to concede victory.
The declaration comes despite official results from Sunday’s vote not expected until two weeks.
“Our victory is clear. It must be respected,” Tchiroma declared in a post on Facebook.
He called on the government to “accept the truth of the ballot box” or “plunge the country into turmoil”, promising to publish detailed results by region.
“The people have chosen,” he added.
While the tally sheets are allowed to be published, final results must be announced by the country’s Constitutional Council — a “red line that must not be crossed”, according to the government.
In the 2018 presidential election, opposition challenger Maurice Kamto declared himself winner the day after the vote.
He was subsequently arrested and his supporters’ rallies were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons, with dozens arrested.
Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, is vying to extend his decades in power.
But former employment minister Tchiroma generated unexpected enthusiasm among voters in the central African nation, and a duel had been emerging, with supporters on both sides claiming victory.
Images of sheets and blackboards tallying the results have circulated on social media, fuelling the victory claims among both Biya and Tchiroma’s camps.
