Four killed in Cameroon protests as results due in contested election

Authorities claim that at least four people have died amid protests in Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub, ahead of the formal release of the results of a very close presidential election.

Samuel Dieudonné Diboua, the governor of the region, reported that police stations had been attacked and that security troops had fought back.

Hundreds of supporters of opposition presidential candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, disobeyed a prohibition to stage protests in multiple cities, battling with police personnel.

Tchiroma Bakary has said that he won the presidential election on October 12, which represents a challenge to President Paul Biya’s 43-year-old grasp on power. The CPDM party, which is in power, has denied the charges.

Diboua called the deadly protests “premeditated acts of violence” and a major threat to public order and national security.

“Sadly, four people died,” he said, adding that some members of the security forces were also hurt.

He also said, “Investigations have been opened to shed light on these unfortunate events,” and threatened to take action against those who started them.

In Tchiroma Bakary’s stronghold of Garoua, a city in the north of the country, police fired tear gas and water cannons at his supporters.

The protesters were angry because they thought the ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), was going to “steal the victory” from the opposition leader.

Tchiroma Bakary called his supporters in Cameroon and throughout the world to march peacefully to “liberate Cameroon,” which led to the protests.

Authorities have banned meetings until Monday, when the results will be announced by Cameroon’s constitutional council.

In Garoua, the protests started out peacefully, but things got out of hand when police used tear gas to break up the hundreds of people who had come to support Tchiroma Bakary.

“We’re not here to cause trouble.” A sign said, “We’re demanding the truth of the ballot.”

One protester was seen with a sign asking US President Donald Trump for help.

“We’re here to take our victory.” “We have the right to march peacefully, and that’s what we’re doing,” said another demonstrator.

People who supported the cause also went out on the streets in Douala, a city in the southwest. “We want Tchiroma, we want Tchiroma,” protesters yelled, according to Reuters.

Michel Mvondo, BBC There is a big fire near a fallen tree. Michel Mvondo/BBC
Tchiroma Bakary told his followers to march peacefully after the presidential polls, which led to the protests.

Tchiroma Bakary told the BBC before that he would not accept a vote that was stolen.

He added that his staff had put together the big picture by looking at the results from each polling place.

Tchiroma Bakary said in a video he released on social media that he won the election with around 55% of the vote, based on what he said were returns from 80% of the voters.

The 76-year-old former government minister disagreed with Biya, who is 92 years old and wants to run for another term after 43 years in power.

The CPDM has rejected Tchiroma Bakary’s claims of victory, and several officials have called it unlawful because only the constitutional council can announce official results.

Opposition supporters say that the election on October 12 was unfair because there were problems with the ballots, such as ballot stuffing.

Judges on the constitutional council turned down eight petitions because there wasn’t enough evidence of problems or they didn’t have the power to throw out the results.

Tchiroma Bakary didn’t want to file complaints with the council, which justices Biya chose. Instead, he called himself the “legal and legitimate president.”

Tchiroma Bakary was born in Garoua and went to school in France to become an engineer. He then came back to Cameroon to work for the state railway business.

In 1984, he was sent in jail for being part of a plot to remove President Biya from office. Tchiroma Bakary spent six years in prison even though he denied the accusation and was never found guilty.

He was also the communications minister from 2009 until 2019.

He was Biya’s government’s spokesperson and defended it strongly during crises like the Boko Haram insurgency, when the army was accused of killing civilians.

But in June, only four months before the general election, Tchiroma Bakary altered his mind and quit the cabinet. He then said he would run against Biya for president.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly4x9n0yvno

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