Timi Frank Urges Global Leaders to Recognise Bakary, Sanction Biya Over Disputed Cameroon Poll
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has called on former United States President Donald Trump and other world leaders to recognise opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary as the rightful winner of Cameroon’s presidential election.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Frank accused President Paul Biya of attempting to subvert the will of the Cameroonian people through electoral manipulation aimed at prolonging his decades-long rule.
He cited publicly released polling unit figures and regional vote tallies which, according to him, showed Bakary secured a clear victory at the polls.
“From all indications, the people of Cameroon have spoken through the ballot and have chosen Issa Tchiroma Bakary,” Frank said. “Unfortunately, as we have often witnessed in Africa, entrenched regimes are once again trying to suppress the will of the people.”
Frank condemned what he described as the Biya regime’s campaign of intimidation, violence, and harassment against citizens protesting alleged electoral fraud.
“At 92, Paul Biya remains Africa’s longest-serving leader,” he said. “His refusal to relinquish power despite widespread rejection makes a mockery of democracy. Cameroon is already on the brink because its youth are demanding that their voices be respected.”
He urged the international community to impose targeted diplomatic and economic sanctions on Biya’s government if the election outcome is tampered with.
“I call on President Donald Trump and other global leaders to recognise Bakary’s mandate and act decisively. The rigging of elections in Africa must end. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity,” Frank warned.
He also appealed to the African Union and global institutions to act swiftly, warning that failure to do so could embolden other leaders across the continent to undermine democratic processes.
Bakary has already declared victory over Biya, who was seeking an unprecedented eighth term in office, even as Cameroonians await the official release of the election results.