Opposition declares Tchiroma winner of Cameroon election, urges Biya to concede
A coalition of political parties has claimed victory for presidential candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the former ally of longtime leader Paul Biya who, according to it, delivered a “crushing defeat” to the 42-year regime during Sunday’s vote.
“The results coming in from all corners of the country as well as from abroad announce an unequivocal verdict: the People's Consensus Candidate, Issa TCHIROMA BAKARY, is the winner of the presidential election of October 12, 2025, with a percentage ranging between 60% and 80% in several polling stations,” the Union for Change wrote in a statement signed by coalition leaders Anicet Kane and Djeukam Tchameni.
Hours after polls closed, reports from the ground suggested that Tchiroma had a sizable lead over Biya and the 10 other candidates in multiple polling stations, especially overseas.
These counts, posted online, are unverified. The Constitutional Council has until October 26 to release the official result of what many observers call the most consequential election in Cameroon’s recent history.
Still, the Union for Change lauded Tchiroma for what it described as a success against the “traditional fraud machine of the ruling State party.” It also called on Biya to “promptly extend his congratulations to the winner” as the “outgoing president.”
Even before the October 12 polls, Tchiroma has been widely considered as one of the top two opposition bets to pit against the incumbent Biya, along with Bella Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress.
A former Cameroon employment chief, Tchiroma, received last-minute backing from seven political parties that previously endorsed Hermine Njoya, the lone female challenger. He also signaled a shift away from any hopes of a consolidated opposition, even calling Bouba a coy of the ruling government.
If Tchiroma indeed won as the coalition had claimed, he would take on a historic presidency that would put an end to the 42-year rule of his predecessor. He will also become Cameroon’s third president since its liberation from France in 1960.
At 76, Tchiroma also brings in a wealth of political experience, though never up to par with the 92-year-old Biya. He has served as a legislator and as minister of transport, communication, and employment and vocational training.
Tchiroma is so enduring in Cameroonian politics that he has traveled across the spectrum — from being one of Biya’s most trusted men, he became a fierce critic that railed against the “broken” government, asserting “a country cannot exist in the service of one man.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
