Same old: Paul Biya, aged 92, has just been elected president of Cameroon for the eighth consecutive time. Photo: X/Pr_Paul_Biyaeo
Paul Biya, the 92-year-old president of Cameroon, and the world’s oldest head of state, has been re-elected to an eighth consecutive term, a decision that has drawn mixed reactions.
Leading up to the elections, his daughter, Brenda Biya, a 27-year-old LGBTQI musician residing in France, publicly voiced her disapproval of his continued tenure.
However, Biya secured 53% of the presidential vote, thereby retaining his position.
Last month, Brenda Biya shared a video on TikTok pleading with Cameroonians not to support her father because “his leadership has brought suffering to many”, concluding that, “I hope we get a new president.”
She hasn’t spoken to her father since July last year, after she came out of the closet with a smooch with Brazilian model Layyons Valenca.
The kiss was defiant of her strict father because, under his country’s laws, Brenda would be liable to a maximum five-year prison term and a fine.
To avoid embarrassment, Biya asked his daughter to take down the video, but she refused and instructed him to stop communicating with her.
Despite criticism she has attracted for living large in France, and allegations that she was being taken care of with taxpayers’ money, Brenda emerged as a role model of civic courage for some when she called on voters to remove her dad from power.
According to World Bank figures, 41% of Cameroon’s population is under 14 years old — they are the future of the country.
Then there’s the 15 to 64 range, mostly the working-age population, at 56%. Those ages 65 years or older form less than 3% of the population, yet the country’s top leadership is above 70 years of age, on average.
Clement Atangana, the 91-year-old president of the Constitutional Council, and Claude Meka, the 91-year-old chief of staff in the army, are among the older officials.
Younger members include Marcel Niat, the 84-year-old senate president; Laurent Esso, the 83-year-old minister of justice and Cavaye Yeguie, the 85-year-old speaker of the national assembly.
Some young role models endorse Biya’s regime, such as football legend Samuel Eto’o, who openly declared his support in 2018. This time around, he was also one of Biya’s top campaigners.
Younger presidential candidates Cabral Libii, 45, of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, and the only woman in the race, Hermine Patricia Tomaïno Ndam Njoya, 56, from the Cameroon Democratic Union, found the going tough, garnering 3.34% and 1.66% of the vote, respectively.
Libii congratulated Biya for beating them.
Biya’s primary challenger wasn’t a young man, but rather 79-year-old Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who is a former minister of employment and vocational training.
He emerged in June to contest the presidency, joining forces with a coalition of opposition parties that ultimately lost in a disputed election.
Despite being desperate to break Biya’s long run, Bakary couldn’t do the job, coming second with 35.19% of the vote.
Initially, 13 candidates qualified to stand for president, but the final number was 10.
A notable absentee was 71-year-old Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, who was disqualified by the electoral college.
Bakary dismissed Biya’s victory as “fictitious”, as riots flared in parts of the country, with at least 10 reported casualties.
In his first public address after the results were announced, he said, “This election was won by a significant majority. This triumph belongs to the people of Cameroon, not just to me.”
He could find himself in trouble. Paul Atanga Nji, the country’s interior minister, warned that if demonstrations persisted, Bakary would be held liable.
He also warned journalists in a televised press conference that they should not publish or broadcast content that promoted violence.
The EU called for restraint and for the release of political prisoners after the riots.
“The European Union calls on the authorities of Cameroon for accountability, transparency and justice to tackle instances of excessive use of violence and human rights violations.
“It also calls for the release of all those arbitrarily detained since the presidential elections,” reads the statement released from Brussels.
Cameroon is a bilingual country, with English spoken in the north-western and south-western regions, which were under British rule. The other part of the country is French-speaking.
Because of the historical imbalance caused by French domination in government, resulting in the marginalisation of English speakers, there has been a recurring dispute in the English-speaking areas since 2016.
A Cameroonian activist, Francis Akwo, disputed Biya’s popularity in the English-speaking parts of the country as one example of alleged rigging.
“In the south-west, Biya got 68.7% of the vote, but more than 52% boycotted. In the north-west, he got about 80%; these are figures from the electoral body.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he said.
The final results cannot be challenged, according to Cameroon’s laws, and Biya’s inauguration date will be announced in due course.