Copyright unilad
The world's oldest president has broken his previous record by being voted into office again at the age of 92, despite civil unrest. President Paul Biya has been the elected leader of Cameroon for more than four decades, first coming into office as prime minister in 1975 and then president in 1982. Not only does this make him one of the longest-serving presidents in history, but also one of the oldest, as he celebrated his 92nd birthday in February this year. The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) has fiercely fought off the opposition, with Biya appearing to win almost landslide majorities in every election since the 1990s. Now, Cameroon's top court announced on Monday (October 27) that he has won the election once again, meaning Biya has extended his rule for another seven years and will be 99 years old by the time the next election swings around. Residents in the central African country voted at the ballot on October 12, which the electoral commission claimed saw Biya receive 53.66 percent of the votes cast. His rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who once was the minister of employment before defecting to the opposition, reportedly only received 35.19 percent of the vote. The result almost immediately sparked violence across the region as voters demanded to see more credible results, citing deep distrust in the electoral process. At least four people died, including a teacher after stray bullets reportedly hit her, and dozens more were arrested amid the turmoil as Cameroon cops clashed with protesters. According to The Express, all four protesters were shot dead by officials while at least 105 were arrested after taking to the streets in Douala. The Constitutional Council also dismissed several petitions accusing the government of electoral malpractice, including from opposition parties. Bakary, leader of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, also declared himself the leader, claiming to have instead secured 54.8 percent of the vote against Biya's 31.3 percent, adding that the council would be 'complicit in a breach of trust' if it upheld Biya's supposedly manipulated victory. "The vast majority of the Cameroonian people will never accept that the council validates the historic scale of ballot stuffing and falsification," he said. While protests also gripped Bakary's hometown of Garoua in the north, over in Maroua, a city in the Far North region considered one of the country's poorest areas and a political stronghold for Bakary, a group of young people wrote to their regional governor. The letter stated the citizens had voted for Bakary but 'the government wants to rig it,' while citing deep poverty in the region. "It’s better to go join Boko Haram in Sambisa [in Nigeria] than to stay for another seven years," it continued as per The Guardian. "If you let us go, you and the CPDM activists will pay with blood in Maroua.” Meanwhile, Biya's party dubbed his rival's claim as a 'grotesque hoax' and an 'unacceptable fraud in a state of law'. In a televised address, minister of territorial administration Paul Atanga Nji said many protesters would face trial before a military tribunal on 'serious charges, including incitement to rebellion and insurrection'. The announcement comes as many concerns about Biya's health and his ability to govern the country came to the surface, especially since most of the president's work has been left to party officials and family members in recent years. Despite reportedly spending a lot of time in Europe, Biya stifled calls for him to step down when announcing his bid to run again, stating: "In the face of increasingly difficult international environment, the challenges facing us are more and more pressing. In such a situation, I cannot shirk my mission."
