Cameroon opposition's Tchiroma claims election victory

Cameroon opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma declared victory late on Monday in the country's 12 October presidential election, urging President Paul Biya to accept defeat and "honour the truth of the ballot box".

"Our victory is clear. It must be respected," Tchiroma said in a speech on his Facebook page from his hometown of Garoua in the north of the Central African state. 

Tchiroma, a former government spokesperson and employment minister in his late seventies, broke ranks with Biya earlier this year and mounted a campaign that drew large crowds and endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.

Without naming Tchiroma, Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) on Tuesday (14 October) condemned the self-declared victory as a "grotesque hoax," adding that only the Constitutional Council is enabled to proclaim results.

Biya, 92, the world's oldest serving head of state, is seeking an eighth term after 43 years in power.

Analysts had expected his control over state institutions and a fragmented opposition to give him an edge in the election, despite growing public discontent over economic stagnation and insecurity.

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