Cameroon opposition leaders arrested as protests erupt over election results

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YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Two Cameroon opposition leaders have been arrested, their parties said, as protests rattled the country over the presidential election results that were expected on Monday.

Among those arrested late Friday in the economic hub of Douala were Anicet Ekane and Djeukam Tchameni, two top figures in the Union for Change political platform that endorsed candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary and his claim to have defeated President Paul Biya in the Oct. 12 election.

The African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) party said its treasurer and other members were also “kidnapped” by local security forces. It said the aim was “to intimidate Cameroonians.”

The circumstances of the arrests were not immediately clear.

Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, meanwhile, told reporters Saturday that the government arrested several people during the week on suspicion of plotting violent attacks in the guise of protests.

“Their planned modus operandi is to infiltrate groups of protesters and commit terrorist attacks, leading to the loss of human lives which will later be attributed to the forces of law and order,” he said, without further details.

Cameroon’s top court, the constitutional council, is expected to announce the final election results on Monday, but opposition supporters have staged protests in recent days warning against an attempt to rig the vote.

While Tchiroma claims to have won based on results he said were collated by his party, Biya's party accused him of trying to disrupt the election.

Protests were held Saturday in Bafoussam, the capital of the West Region, as motorcyclists flooded major roads, calling for a credible election process.

Protesters clashed with security forces in other cities earlier in the week. Some protesters were arrested and one person was killed in the northern city of Garoua, authorities said.

The victim, a 30-year-old primary schoolteacher identified as Zairatou Hassana, was not among the protesters and was only out to check on her sister who was yet to return from school, Amadou Adji, her uncle, told The Associated Press.

“Her death makes me keep a bad souvenir of this regime like all other Cameroonians,” he said.

On Friday, Tchiroma hinted at attempts to arrest him. In a Facebook post, he said such a move would constitute “an assault against the entire Cameroonian people.”

“The people are simply asking you to recognize their victory,” he said.