•Burning barricades by supporters of the political opposition yesterday ahead of the release of the results
Former government minister and presidential hopeful Issa Tchiroma Bakary called on Cameroonians today to protest if the Constitutional Council announces “falsified and distorted results” in the hotly contested poll.
Incumbent Paul Biya, 92, is seeking an eighth term to extend his 43-year rule following the October 12 contest which already faces allegations of “electoral fraud” and “irregularities”.
•President Paul Biya and rival Issa Tchiroma Bakary
Supporters of Tchiroma, who according to his own tally won 54.8 percent of the votes against Biya’s 31.3 percent, have sporadically taken to the streets since last week to claim victory in the presidential election, reports AFP.
As of today, officials banned public gatherings and the movement of motorcycle taxis in several cities ahead of the final results due not later than Monday evening.
“The Cameroonian people, in their vast majority, will never accept the validation by the Constitutional Council of falsification and ballot stuffing,” Tchiroma declared in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“If they prefer to threaten the serenity and peace of the country rather than admit defeat, we will respond with the peaceful determination of the people,” he said.
“Let us march for liberation and to claim our victory.”
Biya’s RDPC party has since denounced Tchiroma’s victory claim as “a grotesque hoax” and an “unacceptable fraud in a state of law”, saying in a statement they were “calmly awaiting the official results”.
