Cameroon opposition candidate Kamto declares victory in presidential election

Cameroon opposition candidate Maurice Kamto declared victory in the presidential election held on Sunday, calling on longstanding incumbent Paul Biya to hand over power peacefully. “I invite the outgoing president to organize a peaceful way to transfer power,” Kamto, who leads the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC), said on Monday in the capital Yaounde. The election was widely expected to extend the rule of Biya, one of Africa’s last multi-decade leaders who has held power for 36 years. Kamto offered no evidence to justify his claim to have won, Reuters said. Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said on Sunday that only the Constitutional Council would be allowed to announce results, adding that that any form of challenge to the verdict would “not be tolerated.”