• Opponent seeks refuge in Nigeria

Africa’s oldest and longest serving president, Paul Biya, who has been president of Cameroon for 43 years, was once again sworn in on Thursday for an eighth term.

After claiming victory in a highly flawed election the results of which were rejected by opponents, Paul Biya maintained a grip on power despite mass protests that claimed many lives.

The 92-year-old Biya won the October 12 with 53.7 percent of the vote, according to official results, against 35.2 percent for his main challenger, former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

Biya is only the second person to lead Cameroon since independence from France in 1960. And he has ruled with an iron fist, repressing all political and armed opposition, and holding onto power in the face of social upheaval, economic inequality and separatist violence.

He was sworn in at a ceremony in parliament in Yaounde for a new seven-year term at the helm of the central African country.

“I will spare no effort to continue to be worthy of this trust,” Biya told the gathering attended by local political figures but no foreign leaders.

“I fully understand the gravity of the situation our country is going through. I understand the number and severity of the challenges we face, and I understand the depth of frustrations and the scale of expectations,” he continued.

Tchiroma, a former Biya ally turned opposition figure, stirred unexpected enthusiasm among young voters who are eager for change and continues to insist he is the true winner of the ballot.

Oracle Intelligence reports that Tchiroma is currently seeking safety in Adamawa State, Nigeria after declaring himself winner of the presidential poll. He is said to have escaped attempts by Biya’s loyal Cameroonian security forces who are alleged to making efforts to arrest and detain him.

“There are now two presidents — the president elected by the Cameroonian people (me) and the president appointed by the Constitutional Council (whom you know),” he wrote on social media on Wednesday.

Froom a safe location known by Nigerian security and intelligence personnel, Tchiroma has repeatedly urged supporters to protest against the official results, which were closer than expected.

Several people are reported to have died when security forces quashed opposition rallies just before and after Biya’s win was announced on October 27.

Tchiroma has since urged supporters to stage “dead city” operations, closing shops and halting other public activities.

The response in the former French colony has been mixed, with the call being widely followed in Garoua and Douala but in Yaounde most shops remained open, children were at school and employees went to work.

The government has said it plans to initiate legal proceedings against the opposition leader, denouncing his “repeated calls for insurrection.”

It has acknowledged that people died in the unrest but has not provided a toll.

“With neither side willing to back down, the risks of worsening unrest are high,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank said in a report on October 29.

Both the European Union and the African Union have condemned the authorities’ violent crackdown on protests, while the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation.