Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, Comrade Timi Frank, has called on President Donald Trump and leaders of the international community to recognise opposition presidential candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, as the duly elected President of Cameroon.
Frank made the call in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, following widespread allegations of President Paul Biya’s attempt to thwart the will of the people by again seeking to manipulate the results to elongate his stay in office.
Citing publicly posted polling unit results and region-by-region vote tallies, Frank asserted that the data clearly showed Tchiroma Bakary as the legitimate winner of the election.
“From all indications, the people of Cameroon have spoken through the ballot and overwhelmingly chosen Issa Tchiroma Bakary. But as we’ve seen too often in Africa, the will of the people is under threat from entrenched dictatorships,” he said.
Frank condemned the Biya regime’s alleged intimidation, harassment, and violence against citizens protesting against attempt to upturn the results of the election, warning that any attempt to manipulate the outcome through the courts could push the nation into unprecedented crisis.
“Paul Biya, at 92, remains Africa’s longest-serving leader. His refusal to relinquish power despite popular rejection is a mockery of democracy,” Frank stated. “Cameroon is already burning because the youth are rejecting attempts ti manipulate the outcome in favour of Biya. They know who truly won,” he said.
He appealed to the United States, European Union, African Union, and other democratic actors to withhold recognition of Biya and instead recognise Issa Tchiroma Bakary as the rightful president-elect.
He also urged them to impose targeted sanctions on the Biya regime if the electoral result is tampered with.
“I call on President Donald Trump and other global leaders to help Cameroonians by recognising Bakary and by imposing diplomatic and economic sanctions on Biya’s regime. The rigging of elections in Africa must stop. The time has come for the will of the people to prevail.”
Frank commended Trump for his recent diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and urged him to turn global attention to Africa’s deepening democratic crisis.
He warned that failure to hold leaders accountable could encourage further democratic backsliding across the continent, including Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
“If the international community does not act now, what is happening in Cameroon may soon be replicated elsewhere, including Nigeria. The African Union must also act urgently. Silence is not neutrality — it is complicity,” he warned.
Frank also issued a strong plea to Cameroon’s military and police forces to end the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and respect the right of citizens to protest.
“We call on Cameroon’s security forces to stop arresting, tear-gassing, and killing peaceful protesters. They must uphold the constitution and protect the people’s democratic rights,” he said.
He praised the courage of Cameroonian youth, who he described as the driving force behind the country’s democratic awakening.
“This young generation has decided that enough is enough. They are standing up to decades of authoritarian rule, and we join them in their quest to reclaim their nation peacefully and democratically,” Frank declared.
Drawing parallels to other political crises across Africa, Frank cited Ivory Coast, where President Alassane Ouattara, now 83, is reportedly seeking a controversial fourth term in office.
“From Cameroon to Ivory Coast, we are seeing the same dangerous pattern of leaders clinging to power. This must stop if Africa is to progress,” he said.
He called on world leaders to set a precedent for electoral justice in Africa.
“We urge all global democratic actors to recognise Bakary as the winner of this election. The time to act is now — to save Cameroon and defend democracy across Africa,” he stated.
