Cameroon’s opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who has declared himself the winner of the 12 October elections, has told the BBC that he will not accept a stolen vote, with the results due to be announced on Monday.
He says his team has compiled the overall picture based on results from individual polling stations, so there is no doubt.
Tchiroma Bakary, 76, is a former government minister who broke ranks with President Paul Biya, 92, who is seeking another term after 43 years in power.
The ruling party has dismissed Tchiroma Bakary’s victory claims and several officials have described it as illegal because only the Constitutional Council can proclaim official results.
Tchiroma Bakary said he had urged his supporters to defend their votes, adding: “We will never accept their votes being stolen by anyone.”
He said he was not concerned about being arrested or being put in jail, “but I know that I have already won the presidential election”.
“There is no doubt, no shadow of doubt whatsoever. My victory is undeniable,” he told the BBC in an interview.
He said the ruling CPDM party had “their backs against the wall” and could not accept the reality of the vote, and challenged them to show if what he was saying about the election was wrong.
He defended his decision to declare himself himself the winner, insisting that the law “does not prevent us from so doing”.
Asked whether he would accept defeat if someone else is declared the winner, he said he would agree “provided the Constitutional Council announces the results that comes from the ballot box, not ballot stuffing”.
Tensions over the delayed announcement of the election results have been growing, sparking fears of post-electoral violence in a country already rocked by a separatist conflict in the Anglophone regions and Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North region.
The highly respected and influential Catholic Church in Cameroon this week urged calm following fears that violence could erupt once official results are declared.
Catholic bishops said they hoped the official result would reflect the will of the electorate, and “nothing will be changed by any authority involved in this exercise”.
