Douala – Cameroon’s opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma has declared victory in the country’s October 12 presidential election, urging President Paul Biya to accept defeat and respect what he described as “the truth of the ballot box.”
Speaking late on Monday from his hometown of Garoua in northern Cameroon, Tchiroma made the announcement through a live address on his Facebook page. “Our victory is clear. It must be respected. The people have chosen, and this choice must be respected,” he said.
Tchiroma, 76, a former government spokesperson and employment minister, broke ranks with Biya earlier this year after decades of political alliance. His campaign drew thousands of supporters across major cities and received endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civil society organisations.
President Biya, aged 92, is seeking an eighth term in office after ruling Cameroon for 43 years, making him the world’s oldest serving head of state.
While preliminary results have not been officially released, Tchiroma claimed that vote tallies compiled from polling stations across the country gave him a decisive victory. He said his team would soon publish a region-by-region breakdown of the results, based on figures posted at polling stations in accordance with electoral law.
“The victory we have achieved is not that of one man, nor of one political party. It is the victory of an entire people,” he said, adding that Cameroonians had defied fear and intimidation to protect their ballots. “I salute all voters who stayed at polling stations until late into the night to ensure their votes were counted.”
Tchiroma also expressed gratitude to rival candidates who, he said, had already sent him messages of congratulations and acknowledged the results.
However, the government has not officially responded to his declaration. Over the weekend, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji warned that any unilateral publication of results would amount to “high treason.” He stressed that under Cameroon’s electoral law, only the Constitutional Council has the power to announce the final results.
The law allows tally sheets to be displayed at polling stations, but the official outcome must be validated by the Constitutional Council, which has until October 26 to release the final results.
Tchiroma urged the country’s security forces, the military, and administrative officials to remain loyal to the republic rather than to individuals. “Our institutions must serve the people, not the regime,” he said.
The October 12 election was conducted in a single round, meaning the candidate with the most votes automatically wins. More than eight million Cameroonians were registered to vote.
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