Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 92, was re-elected for an eighth term with 53.7 percent of the vote, according to official results released by the Constitutional Council on Monday.
Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a rival candidate and former government minister, finished second with 35.2%, the council reported. Chiroma declared victory against the incumbent two days after the October 12 election, calling for protests.
Four people were murdered on Sunday in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in Douala, the region’s economic powerhouse, according to the governor.
According to demonstrators interviewed by AFP, security personnel deployed tear gas first, then “live ammunition.”
Since last week, followers of Issa Tchiroma, who claims to have won 54.8 percent of the vote against Biya’s 31.3 percent, have taken to the streets to defend his alleged triumph.
Most experts expected Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, to win another seven-year term in a system that detractors claim has become increasingly corrupt.
Biya is just Cameroon’s second president since the country gained independence from France in 1960.
He has reigned with an iron grip, suppressing all political and armed opposition and maintaining control despite social unrest, economic disparities, and separatist violence.
