According to official sources, Biya received 53.7% of the votes in the election, while his opponent Issa Tchroma, representing the opposition National Salvation Front, received 35.2%. Nine other candidates also participated in the election, including two former allies of Biya, including Tchroma. However, the 71-year-old opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who came in second in the 2018 election, was unable to participate due to a government ban.
Tchroma announced his victory immediately after the voting, which sparked a wave of protests in several cities across the country. These actions resulted in riots and clashes with the police. As a result of the violence, according to Tchroma's headquarters and local authorities, four people were killed in Douala, the economic center of Cameroon.
Paul Biya, who is the oldest serving head of state in the world, has been president since 1982. In 2008, he abolished the limits on the number of presidential terms, allowing him to remain in power indefinitely. The new seven-year term will enable him to remain president until nearly 100 years old.
His electoral victories have also been accompanied by allegations of fraud; however, Biya's party, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, and the government deny these accusations.
