Description: Anti – government protests in Cameroon have turned violent with four people reported to have been killed in clashes with the police forces in several cities across the country. The protests began last week, when supporters of oppositional presidential candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary contested the results of the presidential elections which have been reportedly filled with ballot stuffing, corruption and electoral manipulation. The country’s incumbent President, Paul Biya, is expected to be announced as the winner of the election on Monday, as per the announcement by Cameroon’s Constitutional Council. More than 30 members of oppositional parties have also been arrested with the country’s Interior Minister announcing rebellion charges against them. Protesters in the impoverished northern parts of the country have threatened with joining Boko Haram’s offshoot organizations in the country if the electoral results do not support the will of the people.
Impact: Public outrage and dissatisfaction with the presidential election results have plunged the country into a widespread civil unrest, threatening further destabilization. Incumbent President Biya has doubled down on suppressing the public dissent and attempted to repressively tackle the civil unrest which has resulted with elevated levels of violence and civil upheaval. Biya has been Cameroon’s President for 43 years and has created a monopolized system of power in the country where he controls the entire institutional executive power, which coupled with Cameroon’s levels of corruption allows him to freely meddle with the results of the election. Biya is risking nationwide civil unrest with the potential for military insurgencies as members in the impoverished parts of the country could be easily persuaded to join larger terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram. The country’s population and the authoritarian system are placed on a collision course as civil unrest and instability are expected to exponentially rise over the next couple of days.