Hundreds, and by some accounts thousands, of Cameroonians poured into the streets of major cities this Sunday, October 26, 2025, setting up burning barricades, chanting pro-Tchiroma slogans and clashing with riot police after opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary reiterated his claim that he won the October 12 presidential vote. From Douala, Yaoundé, Ebolowa, Bertoua, Garoua, Maroua, and Ngoundéré to Dschang, Limbe, and Nkongsamba, it was a beehive of irate protesters demanding the truth from the ballot box. Security forces responded with tear gas, water cannons, and, according to opposition sources, live fire, leaving several people dead and many more arrested as the country teetered on the eve of the Constitutional Council’s official verdict.
Witnesses in Douala described scenes of broken shopfronts, smashed street furniture and neighbourhoods choked with smoke from burning tyres as protesters tried to block major roads. Police pushed into protest areas to clear the streets; the campaign for Tchiroma said dozens of activists and some opposition figures were detained during the operation. Authorities say they were acting to restore order.
Opposition leaders and civil society had urged Cameroonians to demonstrate peacefully to force authorities to publish “the truth of the ballot boxes”, a reference to tally sheets (procès-verbaux) that Tchiroma’s camp says show he defeated the 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya. Tchiroma’s camp says the arrests and the security clampdown are part of an effort to crush dissent ahead of the formal results announcement preemptively. The government rejects claims of a stolen vote and has warned against “insurrectional” acts.
Violence and casualties: The opposition and some local outlets report multiple deaths from gunfire during the clashes in Douala and in other cities where protests spread. Independent tallies are still incomplete, and the authorities have given a different account; media organisations are continuing to verify reports from the ground. Observers also flagged disruptions to internet and mobile services in some regions, complicating efforts to confirm events in real time.
Protests were reported in several regional centres—Garoua, Bafoussam, and Maroua—and in parts of the West, while, according to several international reports, Yaoundé was relatively calmer on Sunday than those other cities (though the capital saw unrest on earlier days of the post-vote crisis). The national picture is therefore mixed: pockets of fierce confrontation in commercial and regional hubs and tighter security elsewhere.
By Lucas Muma
