Description: Cameroon’s Constitutional Council announced Paul Biya as the winner of the highly contested and controversial presidential election in the country. The Council stated that Biya won 53.66% of the votes while his main opponent Issa Tchiroma Bakary won 35.2%. Shortly after the Council’s decision was announced, violent protests continued to persist across the country in cities like Douala, Garoua and Yaoundé. The situation in cities like Garoua and Yaoundé has been particularly volatile with security forces reportedly being engaged in extrajudicial killings of civilians. The country has been plagued by high levels of corruption, unemployment has risen to 40% in recent years, while the infrastructure has started to crumble. In the northwestern and northeastern parts, Cameroonian security forces are battling a separatist insurgency with the Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF) and other smaller militant and separatist groups for over 10 years. In light of the recent upheaval, internet blockades and access have been put in place, while the official state operator Camtel has blamed technical incidents for the disruptions.
Impact: Biya’s desperate clinging to power accompanied by his decadent domestic policies have precipitated deadly levels of violence which is threatening to engulf the entire country and plunge it into a protracted security, political and civilian crisis. The protests are already out of control with the security forces executing civilians in the streets. Biya’s corruptive authoritarian apparatus is starting to crumble under pressure from the civil movement as Cameroon enters a governing transitional period. The country’s declining economic and security conditions further aggravate the entire situation with civilian unrest further escalating in the upcoming period. The protests could easily topple Biya’s government and dismantle the country’s political and judicial system unless the reelected President cedes his presidency to his rival in a peaceful fashion, which at this point is highly unlikely. The events on the ground signal a prelude to what would be a prolonged transitional period in Cameroon as the government would most probably be overthrown in the upcoming period.