Police fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in Cameroon who defied a government ban on protests to show support for opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary. Tchiroma claims victory in the recent presidential election and had urged his supporters to march peacefully.
The Constitutional Council is expected to announce the results of the 12 October vote on Monday, and authorities have prohibited public gatherings until then.
Most analysts predict that Paul Biya, aged 92, will secure an eighth term in office, in what critics describe as an increasingly manipulated system after 43 years of his rule.
In Garoua, Tchiroma’s northern stronghold, protesters waved Cameroonian flags and carried banners reading “Tchiroma 2025”, chanting “Goodbye Paul Biya, Tchiroma is coming”. Tchiroma insists he won 54.8 per cent of the vote.
After nearly two hours of demonstrations, police deployed tear gas to scatter the crowd.
Dozens of supporters have gathered outside Tchiroma’s residence in recent days. In a video released on Sunday, he alleged that military personnel had attempted to abduct him.
In the capital, Yaoundé, AFP correspondents reported that the protest call attracted little response amid a heavy police presence.
In the southwestern coastal city of Douala, several dozen people assembled near the airport, defying an official ban on demonstrations issued by the regional prefect, according to an AFP journalist.
Djeukam Tchameni, president of the Movement for Democracy and Interdependence in Cameroon (MDI), and Anicet Ekane, president of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem), were arrested at their homes in Douala on Friday, according to a coalition of opposition parties that nominated Tchiroma as their consensus candidate.
Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said on Saturday that the protests “create conditions for a security crisis” and contribute to “the implementation of an insurrectionist project”.