At 92 years old, the oldest president in the world is reelected for the eighth time in Cameroon

Cameroonian President Paul Biya, 92, greets a voter — Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters The President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest ruler, secured an 8th term on Monday (27), according to election results, while the main opposition challenger, who also claimed victory, reported shots near his house. Biya, 92, garnered 53.66% of the votes, against 35.19% of his former ally, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Cameroonian Constitutional Council said. A new seven-year term could keep the veteran leader in power until he is almost 100 years old. Opposition protesters clashed with security forces several times last week after partial results indicated Biya was on track to win the October 12 vote. There was no immediate comment on the result from the government, which rejected opposition allegations of irregularities. After the results were announced, Tchiroma wrote on Facebook that two people were killed after shots were fired at civilians outside his house in the northern city of Garoua. He did not say who had fired the shots or directly comment on the election outcome. Reuters could not independently confirm his account. Last week, he said he had won the election and would not accept any other result. The result raised the prospect of more clashes between opposition supporters and security forces, a day after at least four people died in clashes in Cameroon’s commercial capital, Douala. Protests in Cameroon as election results near ‘We expect the unrest to grow as Cameroonians widely reject the official result, and we can’t see Biya’s government lasting much longer,’ said François Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics. ‘Biya now has a remarkably unstable mandate as many of his own citizens do not believe he won the election,’ said Murithi Mutiga, Director of the Africa Program at the International Crisis Group, to Reuters. ‘We urge Biya to urgently initiate a national mediation to prevent further escalation,’ Mutiga added. Historical The Cameroonian leader has been in power since 1982, when he ousted and sent into exile his then mentor, former President Ahmadou Ahidjo. Since then, he has ruled the country with an iron fist and faced allegations of clientelism, intimidation, and electoral fraud. He also removed a constitutional amendment limiting a president’s stay in power to two terms.