Cameroon’s long-serving President, Paul Biya, has been declared winner of the country’s October 12 presidential election, securing a 53.7% majority to extend his rule into an eighth term.
The result was announced on Monday, October 27, 2025, by the President of the Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, at the Yaoundé Conference Centre.
At 92, Biya remains the world’s oldest sitting head of state and has led Cameroon for 43 years — becoming only the second president since independence from France in 1960.
Former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary placed second with 35.2% of the vote. Tchiroma had earlier declared himself the winner just days after the election, rejecting any suggestion of defeat.
The final announcement came after a tense weekend of unrest. Four people were reportedly killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in Douala on Sunday.
Regional Governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua said protesters attacked a gendarmerie brigade and two police stations, prompting a security response that left multiple officers injured. Protesters, however, accused security forces of firing live rounds, displaying bullet casings to journalists.
Despite a ban on public gatherings, Tchiroma had called for peaceful demonstrations ahead of the results — a move authorities say heightened tensions.
Biya will now continue in office for another seven-year term, maintaining his decades-long grip on power as opposition groups raise fresh concerns over political freedoms and election credibility in the Central African nation.
