On the event date, Cameroon's Constitutional Council declared incumbent Paul Biya the winner of the presidential election, confirming another term for the 92-year-old leader after days of unrest and allegations of irregularities.
The AP says Biya won 53.66% of the vote, while former ally Issa Tchiroma Bakary took 35.19%, with turnout at 57.7%. That formal result ends the electoral phase but not the political tension around it. The same report says at least four protesters were killed in clashes with security forces as opposition supporters demanded credible results and challenged the outcome in the streets.
Biya has been in power since 1982, making him one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. The packet underlines the generational divide surrounding the result: more than 70% of Cameroon's population is under 35, yet the presidency remains in the hands of a ruler who first took office more than four decades ago.
The AP also describes a widening legitimacy dispute. Tchiroma had claimed victory days earlier, citing results he said were compiled by his party. After the court announcement, he alleged on social media that security forces had shot at civilians. Biya, by contrast, issued a statement saying his first thoughts were with those who had lost their lives in post-election violence. Those competing narratives show a country where the vote count and the political story are already at odds.
The unrest was not isolated. The report says hundreds of people took to the streets in several cities, including Douala, Garoua and Maroua, and security forces fired tear gas and made at least 105 arrests. The AP also notes that a group of local civil society organizations cited irregularities including deceased voters on electoral lists, unequal distribution of ballots and attempted ballot-box stuffing, although the African Union mission said the vote was largely in line with regional and international standards.
Biya's reelection also revives the broader argument over governance in Cameroon. Critics say his long rule has delivered neither broad-based economic gains nor political renewal, while supporters argue that he remains the only figure capable of maintaining stability. The country still faces Boko Haram attacks in the north and a secessionist conflict in the English-speaking regions.
The court's declaration therefore settles one question and intensifies another. Biya remains in office, but the legitimacy of his renewed mandate will be tested against a backdrop of youth frustration, protest repression and unresolved regional conflict. The AP's account suggests that the next phase of the crisis may be less about the legal result than about whether the country can absorb it without deeper violence.
