Cameroon’s Biya, world's oldest president, sworn in for 8th term

YAOUNDE – Mr Paul Biya, who has been president of Cameroon for 43 years, was sworn in on Nov 6 for an eighth term, after a contested election that sparked mass protests and subsequent repression in which several demonstrators died.

The 92-year-old Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, won the Oct 12 election with 53.7 per cent of the vote, according to official results, against 35.2 per cent for his main challenger, former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

He was sworn in at a ceremony in Parliament in the capital city of Yaounde for a new seven-year term at the helm of the central African country.

“I will spare no effort to continue to be worthy of this trust,” Mr Biya told the gathering attended by local political figures but no foreign leaders.

“I fully understand the gravity of the situation our country is going through. I understand the number and severity of the challenges we face, and I understand the depth of frustrations and the scale of expectations,” he added.

Mr Tchiroma, a former Biya ally turned opposition figure, stirred unexpected enthusiasm among young voters eager for change and continues to insist he is the true winner of the ballot.

“There are now two presidents – the president elected by the Cameroonian people (me) and the president appointed by the Constitutional Council (whom you know),” he wrote on social media on Nov 5.

He has repeatedly urged supporters to protest against the official results, which were closer than expected.

Several people are reported to have died when security forces quashed opposition rallies just before and after Mr Biya’s win was announced on Oct 27.

Political stand-off

Mr Tchiroma has since urged supporters to stage “dead city” operations, closing shops and halting other public activities.

The response in the former French colony has been mixed, with the call being widely followed in Garoua and Douala. Over in Yaounde, most shops remained open, children were at school and employees went to work.

Mr Tchiroma had been confined to his home in Garoua after the results were announced, but on Nov 4, one of his spokespeople told AFP that he was “on the move”.

The government has said it plans to initiate legal proceedings against the opposition leader, denouncing his “repeated calls for insurrection”.

It has acknowledged that people died in the unrest but has not provided a toll.

“With neither side willing to back down, the risks of worsening unrest are high,” the International Crisis Group think-tank said in a report on Oct 29.

Both the EU and the African Union have condemned the authorities’ violent crackdown on protests, while the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation.

Mr Biya is only the second person to lead Cameroon since independence from France in 1960.

He has ruled with an iron fist, repressing all political and armed opposition, and holding on to power in the face of social upheaval, economic inequality and separatist violence. AFP