An opposition leader in Cameroon, Maurice Kamto on Monday declared himself winner of Sunday’s Presidential election.
He made the announcement at a press conference in the capital Yaoundé despite warning from the government.
Maurice Kamto whose proclamation is seen as very provocative and dangerous did not back his declaration with any official results.
Vote counting and collation is still ongoing after Sunday’s election which was held amid violence in the English speaking regions.
No official results have been announced and there are indications it could take weeks for final results to be announced.
The Constitutional Court however has two weeks to announce the final outcome. Kamto says he has a clear mandate from the people and will defend it.
Kamto has called on President Paul Biya, 85 to hand over power peacefully.
“I invite the outgoing president to organise a peaceful way to transfer power,” he told reporters at the news conference.
Maurice Kamto leads the head of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC).
Kamto is a former Minister Delegate of Justice between 2004 and 2011. He founded his political party in 2012. He was once a supporter of Paul Biya.
Biya seeks to extend rule
President Biya is seeking to extend his current 36 year rule. The 85 year old is one of the longest serving leaders of an African country.
Biya came into power in 1982 when his predecessor then retired. He became president after serving as prime minister for seven years.
He supervised over the scraping of term limits from the Cameroon constitution in 2008. That allows him to run again, a decision that sparked violence in the past.
Source: Africafeeds.com
