Cameroon’s Issa Tchiroma Bakary claims presidential election victory

Cameroon opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary has unilaterally declared victory in the country’s presidential election.

Tchiroma made the statement in a nearly five-minute speech posted to social media early on Tuesday.

Although official channels have not declared results, he urged long-term incumbent, 92-year-old President Paul Biya, to call him to concede, Al Jazeera reports.

Reuters added that Bakary, a longtime ally and former spokesperson for Cameroon President Paul Biya, is mounting a strong challenge to his former boss, claiming to have defeated him in the October 12 presidential election.

In a speech late on Monday, the 76-year-old former minister declared victory and urged Biya, who at 92 is the world's oldest-serving head of state, to "show greatness" by conceding.

"Our victory is clear. It must be respected," Tchiroma said. "The people have chosen. And this choice must be respected."

However, the government warned earlier this week that only results announced by the Constitutional Council can be considered official. The body has almost two weeks to make the announcement.

After he resigned from the government in June, his campaign drew large crowds and key endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.

But Biya – in power for 43 years and the world’s oldest serving head of state – has been widely expected to secure another seven-year term in office, given his tight grip on state machinery and the fragmented nature of the opposition.

Cameroon’s government has not responded officially to Tchiroma’s declaration. However, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji warned recently that only the Constitutional Council has the authority to announce the winner, and that any unilateral publication of results would be considered “high treason”.

Cameroon’s electoral law allows results to be published and posted at individual polling stations, but final tallies must be validated by the Constitutional Council, which has until October 26 to announce the outcome, the Reuters news agency reported.

The declaration marks a dramatic turn in the career of a man who for years defended Biya's policies, including during the country's most turbulent crises. His transformation from staunch ally to opposition figurehead and challenger is one of the most striking political shifts in Cameroon's recent history.

His candidacy has electrified voters who are clamouring for change after more than four decades of Biya's rule, during which economic development in the oil- and cocoa-producing nation has stagnated.

Born in Garoua, in northern Cameroon, Tchiroma trained as a railway engineer in France before returning home to work for the national railway company.

His political career began in earnest in the early 1990s, following a six-year imprisonment over his alleged involvement in the failed 1984 coup against Biya.

He entered parliament in 1992 and aligned with Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, serving as transport minister before a 10-year stint as communication minister from 2009 to 2019.

In these roles, Tchiroma was known for his staunch defence of government actions during crises such as the Boko Haram insurgency, when the army was accused of abuses against civilians, and the civil conflict in the country's English-speaking regions.

But in June, Tchiroma stunned the political establishment by resigning from his post of employment minister and announcing his candidacy for the presidency, accusing Biya's government of mismanaging Cameroon's resource wealth and failing to deliver basic services.

A collection of opposition parties and civic groups known as Union for Change has backed Tchiroma's candidacy with the promise that he would serve as a transitional leader, carrying out audits and overdue reforms of state institutions.