Cameroon's President, Paul Biya has won a seventh term in office in polls marred by low turnout and voter intimidation. At 85 Paul Biya who is sub-Sah
Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya has won a seventh term in office in polls marred by low turnout and voter intimidation. At 85 Paul Biya who is sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest leader, took 71.3% of the vote, according to official results. However, the opposition has called for a re-run of the presidential election as results were rejected by the Constitutional Council last week.
Two days before the results were announced, Africa’s longest-serving President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of neighboring Equatorial Guinea congratulated Mr Biya on his win. Paul Biya’s nearest challenger, Maurice Kamto of the MRC/CRM, gained just 14.2% while Biya took the majority of votes in all but one of Cameroon’s 10 regions, losing out to Mr Kamto by a small margin in the Littoral region which is home to the economic capital, Douala.
Across the country, only half of Cameroon’s voting-age population took part in the polls. Tens of thousands of people were unable to cast their votes because of insecurity. Threats of violence made against would-be voters by rebels in the Anglophone regions reportedly deterred many from casting their ballot. On election day, three separatists who were accused of opening fire on passers-by were shot dead by security forces. Some rebels also tried to disrupt the transporting of ballot boxes by calling for a total ban on all travel.
Voter turnout in the country’s two Anglophone regions was as low as 5%, according to the International Crisis Group.
