YAOUNDE: Cameroon's President Paul Biya has been re-elected for an eighth term at the age of 92, the country's Constitutional Court announced on Monday.
The world's oldest head of state won more than 53 per cent of the vote, his worst result since 1992.
Former minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came in second with around 35 per cent, according to official figures. Tchiroma has rejected the result and called on Cameroonians to rise up.
Demonstrations broke out in several cities on Sunday, and dozens of Tchiroma's supporters have been arrested.
Authorities said four people were killed in the port city of Douala.
Several other opposition candidates lodged appeals citing electoral irregularities, all of which were rejected.
Elections in Cameroon are widely viewed as unfair. Biya, who has been president since 1982 after serving as prime minister from 1975, is one of the world's longest-serving leaders, second only to the dictator of neighbouring Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Cameroon has a population of around 30 million, half of whom are children. Around 8 million people are registered to vote.
The country was once a German colony, and was divided between France and Great Britain after World War I.
A conflict between the French-speaking majority and separatists in the English-speaking regions has claimed at least 6,500 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands since 2017. In the north, terrorists continue to stage attacks.
Opposition activity, freedom of speech and press freedom are severely restricted. Cameroon also faces high debt, crumbling infrastructure and youth unemployment. Around 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty. — dpa
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