Yaoundé, Cameroon – October 15, 2025: Opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary declared victory in Cameroon’s October 12 presidential election on Monday evening, calling on 92-year-old President Paul Biya to concede defeat despite official results not yet being announced.
Speaking from his hometown of Garoua in northern Cameroon via a Facebook video address, the 76-year-old Tchiroma stated: “Our victory is clear. It must be respected. The people have chosen, and this choice must be respected”. He urged Biya to “honor the truth of the ballot box” or risk plunging the country “into turmoil that will leave an indelible scar in the heart of our nation”.
The self-declared victory comes before official tallying is complete and has been met with immediate rejection from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), which dismissed Tchiroma’s claim as a “grotesque hoax”. CPDM spokesperson Jacques Fame Ndongo stated that only the Constitutional Council is authorized to proclaim results, calling the premature announcement “an inadmissible act in a state governed by the rule of law”.
Government Warns of ‘High Treason’ for Unauthorized Results
Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji had warned before the election that any unilateral publication of results would be considered “high treason”. The minister issued a separate statement on Tuesday criticizing Tchiroma and promising to maintain public order during the electoral period.
Under Cameroon’s electoral law, results can be published and posted at individual polling stations, but final tallies must be validated by the Constitutional Council, which has until October 26 to announce the official outcome. Tchiroma said he would soon release a region-by-region breakdown of vote tallies compiled from publicly posted polling station results.
More than 8 million Cameroonians were registered to vote in the election, which uses a single-round electoral system awarding the presidency to the candidate with the most votes. Approximately 31,000 polling stations were set up across the country.
A Former Ally Turned Challenger
Tchiroma, a former government spokesperson and employment minister, served in Biya’s administration for more than two decades before breaking ranks in June 2025 to mount a presidential campaign. His defection marked a significant political shift, as he had previously defended government policies during major crises, including the Anglophone conflict and the Boko Haram insurgency.
The opposition candidate’s campaign drew large crowds and secured endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups known as the Union for Change. He was backed by these groups with the understanding that he would serve as a transitional leader to carry out audits and reforms of state institutions.
In his victory claim, Tchiroma praised voters for “defying intimidation” and staying at polling stations late into the night to protect their ballots. He also called on military forces, security forces, and government administrators to remain loyal to “the republic, not the regime”.
Echoes of 2018: Maurice Kamto’s Disputed Victory Claim
The current standoff bears striking similarities to Cameroon’s 2018 presidential election, when opposition candidate Maurice Kamto declared victory the day after voting. Kamto was subsequently arrested in January 2019 along with hundreds of supporters and charged with rebellion and insurrection. He spent nine months in detention before being released in October 2019.
In the official 2018 results, Biya was declared the winner with 71.28 percent of the vote, while Kamto secured 14.23 percent. The election saw a turnout of 53.85 percent nationwide but was marred by extremely low participation in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, where separatist threats kept voters away.
For the 2025 election, Kamto was barred from running by the Constitutional Council in August after the electoral commission ELECAM rejected his candidacy. The disqualification of Biya’s main 2018 challenger effectively cleared the path for Tchiroma to emerge as the leading opposition candidate.
Biya Seeks Eighth Term After 43 Years in Power
President Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, is seeking an eighth consecutive term at age 92. If reelected, he would be 99 years old by the end of the seven-year presidential mandate. He is currently the world’s oldest serving head of state and Africa’s second-longest-ruling president after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Biya made his first and only campaign appearance one week before election day at a rally in Maroua in the Far North region, where he promised to improve security, combat youth unemployment, and enhance infrastructure. He spent much of the campaign period traveling, including a 10-day trip abroad, and relied heavily on an AI-generated campaign video that drew criticism.
Analysts had widely expected Biya’s control over state institutions and a fragmented opposition to give him an advantage in the election. The president’s CPDM party controls the electoral commission ELECAM, the Constitutional Council, state media, and security forces.
Conflict Zones and Voter Disenfranchisement
The election took place amid ongoing security challenges in multiple regions of Cameroon. In the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, an armed conflict between government forces and Anglophone separatist groups has killed at least 6,000 people since late 2016. More than half a million people have been displaced by the violence.
Separatist groups threatening to disrupt voting kept turnout extremely low in these regions during the 2018 election, with participation rates of just 5.36 percent in the Northwest and 15.94 percent in the Southwest. Similar concerns about violence and voter intimidation persisted for the 2025 election.
In the Far North region, ongoing security threats from Boko Haram militants spilling over from neighboring Nigeria continued to pose challenges. Additional military personnel were deployed to safeguard polling stations in conflict-affected areas.
What Happens Next
With the Constitutional Council having until October 26 to announce official results, Cameroon now faces a tense two-week waiting period. Tchiroma has promised to release his own vote tallies compiled from polling station results, directly challenging the government’s control over electoral information.
The government’s response to Tchiroma’s victory claim will be closely watched, particularly given the violent crackdown that followed Maurice Kamto’s similar declaration in 2018. Security forces have already been deployed to major cities, and authorities have banned opposition rallies.
International observers, including an African Union election observation mission led by Rwanda’s Bernard Makuza, were present for the vote. Their preliminary assessment could influence how the electoral process is perceived both domestically and internationally.
For ordinary Cameroonians, the stakes are high. The country faces economic stagnation, with poverty rates rising from 37.5 percent in 2014 to 38.6 percent in 2021 according to the latest household survey data. Youth unemployment officially stands at 6.23 percent, though underemployment affects a far larger share of young people.
As one opposition supporter stated in the aftermath of Tchiroma’s declaration: “The time of fear, manipulation, and false calculations is over. The only side that matters today is that of Cameroon”.
