Protesters in Garoua were part of widespread unrest across Cameroon on Sunday.
Welba Yamo Pascal / Associated Press / Alamy
Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed he won the presidential election on 12 October, but preliminary results released by the electoral commission put the 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya in the lead.
Cameroon must confront the “deep-seated injustice” driving division across the country to resolve political unrest, a bishop said.
Bishop Emmanuel Abbo of Ngaoundéré, in Cameroon’s Adamawa region, addressed a meeting convened on 23 October by the regional governor Kildadi Taguieke Boukar to urge locals not to obey calls for a popular uprising by opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary.
Tchiroma claimed he won the presidential election on 12 October, but preliminary results released by the electoral commission put the 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya in the lead with about 53 per cent of the vote, with Tchiroma second with 35 per cent. The Constitutional Council was due to announce the final result on 27 October.
On Sunday there were protests across the country, including in Yaoundé, Douala, Maroua, Garoua and Ngaoundere. The authorities said at least four people died in clashes with police in Douala.
While government officials appealed for peace, Bishop Abbo said the current tensions were not just the result of the electoral disputes but came from “suffering that already existed”. He argued that the violent rhetoric and demonstrations represent an “overflow of pain”.
“Ignoring the pain and suffering in people’s hearts is ignoring peace,” Abbo saidd. “If we want to eradicate the hateful and violent rhetoric we keep hearing, we must fight the injustice that feeds it.”
He called for a long-term effort to find the causes of conflict: “That is why we must look beyond the present moment and work toward solutions that go to the very root of the problem. And that root, I believe, is injustice.”
Tchiroma has repeatedly claimed victory and insisted that “the people’s vote will not be stolen”. Several of his supporters were arrested in connection with the protests. The 78-year-old told the BBC last week: “There is no doubt, absolutely no doubt. My victory is indisputable.”
Cameroon’s bishops issued a statement on 19 October acknowledging the peaceful conduct of the polls but condemning the irregularities that could taint the results. They said they hoped that the official result would reflect the will of the electorate and that “nothing will be changed by any authority involved in this exercise”.
“I condemn acts of destructive vandalism perpetrated in some cities and public buildings. I also unequivocally condemn attempts to intimidate or repress citizens who are currently demanding the truth of the ballots,” said the statement, issued by Bishop Paul Lontsié-Keuné of Bafoussam.
“When the will of citizens is deliberately trampled out of selfishness, it constitutes a grave violation of this dignity. Ignoring the vote of each citizen would deny them their fundamental right to freely express their will within the democratic framework provided by law.”
Some Church leaders publicly opposed Biya ahead of the election, criticising his governance over the past 43 years and even urging voters to back other candidates.
In January, Bishop Yaouda Hourgo of Yagoua, in the Far North region, said it would be preferable for the “devil” to take power than for Biya to seek re-election. “We’re not going to suffer any more than this. We’ve already suffered enough,” he said.
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