On 12 October 2025, Cameroon held a presidential election pitting outgoing 92-year-old President Paul Biya against, among others, former minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary. On 27 October, the Constitutional Council proclaimed Paul Biya the winner with 53.66 percent of the vote against 35.19 percent for Issa Tchiroma Bakary, on a turnout of 57.76 percent. Biya was sworn in for an eighth term on 6 November 2025.
Official sourceConstitutional CouncilPublished 27 Oct 2025Verified 4 Sept 2026
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Historiography note
Issa Tchiroma Bakary had declared himself the winner on 12 October, with about 55 percent of the vote by his own count, and called the vote a "masquerade". Protests against the official results broke out in several towns after they were announced; according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 48 people died during the crackdown on these protests.
A human toll established by the United Nations
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded at least 48 deaths during the suppression of the protests that followed the announcement of the results, and called on the authorities to open investigations. This count is independent of the two readings of the vote itself: it concerns what happened afterwards.
The Constitutional Council proclaimed on 27 October 2025 Paul Biya's victory with 53.66 percent of the vote against 35.19 percent for Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a result presented as final and without appeal under Cameroonian electoral law.
Official sourceConstitutional CouncilPublished 27 Oct 2025Verified 4 Sept 2026
An election denounced as a masquerade
Issa Tchiroma Bakary and part of the opposition and diaspora press denounced a "rigged" vote, pointing to their own count crediting their candidate with about 55 percent of the vote, and denounced the deadly crackdown on the protests that followed the announcement of the official results.