Cameroon opposition candidate Tchiroma claims victory in presidential election

YAOUNDE Cameroon AP Cameroon s opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed preeminence early Tuesday in the Oct presidential balloting urging President Paul Biya who has been in power for over four decades to concede Our triumph is clear it must be respected Tchiroma commented in a video announcement on Facebook calling on Biya to accept the truth of the ballot box or plunge the country into turmoil Elections Cameroon the independent body in charge of overseeing the poll and the constitutional court have not yet broadcasted any results Official results are expected at the latest by Oct Biya s Cameroon People s Democratic Movement party rejected Tchiroma s claim on Tuesday Gregoire Owona the deputy secretary-general of the CPDM mentioned the opposition candidate did not win and does not have the results from the polling stations Tchiroma reported he will share a detailed overview of the votes by region in the coming days Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji warned last week that any unauthorized release of results would be deemed high treason saying only the Constitutional Council can declare a winner The -year-old opposition candidate was a executive spokesperson and minister of employment under Biya but quit the leadership last year to launch his presidential run His campaign drew large crowds and backing from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups Analysts have predicted a success for Biya as the opposition remained divided and his strongest rival was barred from running in August Eleven opposition candidates were on the ballot for the Oct ballot Biya is the world s oldest president He has been in power since nearly half his lifetime making him Cameroon s second president since independence from France in During Biya s decades in power the Central African nation of nearly million people has struggled with challenges from a deadly secessionist movement in the west and chronic corruption that has stifled progress despite rich natural information like oil and minerals Around million voters were eligible to vote in Cameroon s balloting which uses a single-round electoral system that awards the presidency to the candidate with the the majority votes During the last presidential ballot in the opposition leader Maurice Kamto claimed win a day after the vote He was later arrested leading to protests and dozens of his supporters being detained Biya cruised to supremacy with over in an ballot marred by irregularities and a low turnout Banchereau released from Dakar Senegal Source