Veteran Cameroonian leader Paul Biya, 92, has been officially declared the winner of the October 12 presidential election, securing 53.66 % of the vote and earning him an unprecedented eighth term in office.
The announcement on 27 October 2025 by the Constitutional Council came after a vote that sparked unrest, particularly in the Anglophone regions where support for his chief challenger Issa Tchiroma Bakary surged.
Tchiroma rejected the official result and claimed victory based on his own tally that awarded him 54.8 % of the vote. He also alleged gunfire directed at civilians outside his Garoua residence, stoking fears of violent backlash.
Biya, who has ruled the Central African nation since 1982 and abolished presidential term limits in 2008, now stands to possibly govern until he is nearly 100. While the authorities maintain the election was fair, observers flagged limitations on opposition access, disenfranchisement in conflict zones, and aggressive security responses to protests.
The renewed mandate comes at a time when Cameroon grapples with a deadly Anglophone separatist uprising, economic challenges, and rising youth disillusionment. Critics say the latest re-election underscores entrenched power rather than democratisation.
