Cameroonian President Paul Biya, 92, has been re-elected for an eighth term with 53.7 percent of the vote, according to official results announced by the Constitutional Council on Monday.
The council said rival candidate and former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came in second with 35.2 percent. Chiroma had previously declared victory two days after the October 12 elections and called for demonstrations.
Biya, who has ruled since 1982, is only the second person to lead Cameroon since its independence from France in 1960 and has secured another chance to remain in power until 2032. Here is what to know about Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, who never loses an election:
Paul Biya was born on February 13, 1933 in Mvomeka’a, in what was then French Cameroon; He is the son of Etienne Mvondo Assam and Anastasie Eyenga Elle. He studied in Cameroon through the seminary and mission school systems before going to France, where he attended the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand, the Sorbonne, Sciences Po, and other institutions, earning credentials in law and political science. Before becoming president, Biya held a number of influential administrative roles, including secretary-general of the presidency during Ahmadou Ahidjo’s presidency, and was subsequently appointed prime minister in June 1975.
On 6 November 1982, following Ahidjo’s resignation, Biya was sworn in as President of Cameroon, a change that followed a period of tension and power struggle within the ruling elite.
In 1984, Biya survived an attempted coup by elements of the presidential guard; The episode strengthened his grip on power and was one of the first tests of his regime. He is the author of Communal Liberalism (1987), a political essay in which he explained his vision of economic liberalism, multiparty politics and national solidarity.
Biya has been married twice: first to Jeanne-Irène Atyam (died 1992) and then to Chantal Vigouroux (married 1994); He has three children, including Brenda Biya, who has attracted attention for her public statements on social issues. He is one of the world’s longest-serving non-royal heads of state, having been in power since 1982, and in 2025 he seeks to extend that term with his eighth presidential term. His long absences from public view and extended trips abroad have fueled speculation about his health and true power center, especially as he ages. However, Biya won another election for the eighth term. Under Biya’s rule, the political system has become highly centralized, with a strong tendency to keep the opposition at bay, rotate loyalists in key positions, and maintain tight control over state institutions.
READ ALSO TOP STORIES OF Newslodge