We will not accept a stolen vote, Cameroon’s opposition leader tells the BBC

Cameroon’s opposition leader Ischiroma Bukary, who declared the winner of the October 12 election, told the BBC that he would not accept a stolen vote, with the results due to be announced on Monday.

He says his group has compiled the whole picture based on the results from individual polling stations, so there is no doubt.

Tchiroma Bakary, 76, is a civil servant who had broken ranks with President Paul BIYA, 92, who is seeking another name after 43 years.

The ruling party dismissed Tchiloma Bakary’s claims of victory and several officials described it as illegal because only the constitutional council can announce official results.

Chiloma Bakary said he urged his supporters to protect their votes, adding: “We will not accept their votes stolen by anyone.”

He said he does not care about being arrested or put in jail, “but I know that I have already won the presidential election”.

“There is no doubt, no shadow of doubt or anything. My victory is undeniable,” he told the BBC in an interview.

He said the ruling CPDM party had ‘put it up against the wall’ and could not accept the reality of the vote, and challenged them to show if what he said about the election was wrong.

He defended his decision to declare himself the winner, stressing that the law “does not prevent us from doing that”.

Tchiroma Bakary previously said that he won the election with about 55% of the votes, based on returns representing 80% of the electorate.

He asked if he would accept defeat if someone else was the winner, and he said he would accept “if the constitutional council announces the results found in the ballot box, not the anointing of the ballot”.

Controversies over the delayed declaration of election results have been escalating, sparking fears of post-election violence in a country already rocked by the Anglophone conflict and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Anglophone region.

The most respected and influential Catholic church in Cameroon this week appealed to the following fears that violence could erupt if the official results are set.

The Catholic bishops hope that the legal result will reflect the will of the electorate, and “nothing will be changed by any authority involved in this work”.

Born in the northern town of Garoua, Tchiloma trained as an engineer in France before returning to Cameroon to work for a national company.

In 1984, he was thrown into prison, accused of involvement in the attempt to remove the President of Biya. Although they denied the allegations and were never convicted, Tchiloma Bakary spent six years in prison. There, he cultivated the land and others I am grateful for and taught me to speak English.

Upon his release from prison, Tchiloma Bakary began his political career. He became an MP to oppose EXPP in 1992, but joined the Alliance of BIYA and BIYA and served as Minister of Transport for four years.

Tchiroma Bakary has also worked as a communications minister from 2009 to 2019.

As Minister of Communications and government spokesperson, he defended Biya’s government during crises such as the Boko Haram insurgency, where the army was accused of killing civilians.

But in June, just four months before the general election, Tchiloma Bakary dramatically changed course, resigned from the government and announced that he would run for the presidency.

He accused the President of rising because of talk, saying “the country cannot exist in the service of one man”.

Despite his recent role as government spokesman, Tchiloma Bakary drew large crowds to his meetings, with electorate voters eager for change.

After four decades of Biya’s rule, economic development has been tough and difficult as inflation, unemployment and insecurity have been rampant.

In addition, citizens in the English-speaking Western region of Cameroon have long complained about pensions, and many there automatically supported Tchiloma Bakary against BIYA, which was seen as representing the majority of the French-speaking population.

At another meeting in the economic capital of Douala, thousands of supporters waited for hours in the rain to hear Tchiloma Bakary Speak. He knows how to command a crowd – a complete contrast to BIYA, who spent most of the campaign in Europe and only showed up for one meeting.

Others are not so taken with the former spokesman. In his home town of Garoua, several residents told the BBC that Tchiloma Bakary was not the right person for them, but at least he offered a change to Biya’s long reign.

“We will not continue with the level of development that is being imitated by Cameroon,” said farmer Benjamin Tunga.

Thiroma Bakary also wanted to distance himself from the government and apologize for his role as its spokesperson.

For example, he defended the soldiers even though he knew they were committing atrocities in the Anglophone Frisis – A conflict that saw separatists fighting more than six authorities.

“I 100% agree that the military creates trust,” he said. “But as Minister of Communications, my duty was to protect our armed forces. Today, I speak as a free man.”

Calm and articulate, Tchiloma Bakary is firm in his stance that people trust him. He is the right president, he tells the BBC.

“The nation knows it, the world knows it.”

Additional reporting by Basilioh Rukanga

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