The dust hasn’t even settled on Cameroon’s polling stations, but the air is already thick with the threat of chaos. In a fiery Facebook video from his northern stronghold of Garoua, opposition firebrand Issa Tchiroma Bakary didn’t just claim victory in Sunday’s presidential election he dropped a bombshell ultimatum to President Paul Biya: “Accept the truth of the ballot box, or risk plunging our nation into total turmoil.”
It’s the kind of rhetoric that has hearts racing in Yaoundé’s cafes and Garoua’s markets, where whispers of unrest are already turning into shouts.
Tchiroma, the 76-year-old former government spokesman who ditched Biya’s inner circle after two decades of loyalty, went full throttle in his nearly five-minute address late Monday. “Our victory is clear.
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It must be respected,” he declared, his voice steady but edged with steel, as he urged the 92-year-old incumbent Africa’s longest-ruling leader to concede gracefully.
“The people have chosen a new era. This is a sanction against the failures of the past.” Drawing from early tallies circulating on social media blackboards scribbled with vote counts from polling stations he painted a picture of sweeping gains across the north and urban centers, where Biya’s grip has shown rare cracks.
For context, this wasn’t some fringe cry. Tchiroma’s Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FNSC) pulled massive crowds during the campaign, tapping into frustrations over youth unemployment, the Anglophone crisis, and Boko Haram’s shadow in the north.
He praised voters for braving intimidation staying late at stations, guarding ballots like family heirlooms and even thanked rival candidates who’ve reportedly congratulated him. But the real kicker? That warning of “total turmoil,” evoking the 2018 post-election clashes that saw hundreds arrested after Maurice Kamto’s disputed loss.
Tchiroma invoked Article 113 of the electoral code, positioning himself as democracy’s defender, not a rabble-rouser. “Institutions and the military must stand with the republic,” he added, a not-so-subtle nod to potential flashpoints.
The government’s response? Stone-cold dismissal. Officials, speaking anonymously to Reuters, hammered home that only the Constitutional Council holds the keys to the kingdom, with results due by October 26.
“No red lines crossed,” one quipped, but the subtext screams control. Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) swiftly rejected the claim, calling it “premature and provocative.” No word yet from the Lion himself Biya, who jetted in from Geneva just for the vote, has been radio silent, his wife Chantal at his side as he cast his ballot in Yaoundé. But with his track record of 70%+ “wins” amid fraud allegations, few here bet on a fairy-tale handover.
This isn’t just posturing; it’s a powder keg. Cameroon, already scarred by separatist fighting and economic woes, saw skirmishes Monday in Garoua, where Tchiroma’s supporters clashed with security forces firing tear gas. Opposition bigwigs like Akere Muna and Cabral Libii are watching closely Kamto’s exclusion from the race (blamed on party infighting) handed Tchiroma the spotlight, but unity remains elusive. International eyes, from the AU to the US, are glued, urging calm amid fears of a Kenya-style uprising.
As vote counts trickle in under floodlights, one Garoua trader told me over bitter coffee: “Tchiroma’s right—we’re tired of the same old script. But if Biya digs in, God help us.” With nine challengers in the mix and 8 million voters’ hopes hanging, Cameroon’s crossroads feels more like a cliff’s edge.
Will maturity prevail, or will turmoil swallow the dream of change? Stay tuned—the next two weeks could rewrite the nation’s story, or unravel it.