Cameroonian President Paul Biya was declared the winner of elections that were marred by allegations of irregularities, and is set to rule the central African nation until the age of 99 if he completes his eighth term.

Biya, 92, won 53.7% of the votes cast on Oct. 12 and his closest rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who resigned from the cabinet in June, 35.2%, Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council, said on Monday.

The yield on the country’s dollar bonds maturing in 2031 eased a sixth day by almost 5 basis points to 10.6% at 12:31 p.m. in London.

“We are still sitting on the sidelines as this plays out,” Kevin Daly, portfolio manager at Abrdn Investments Ltd., said. “It seems a bit premature to make a call right now.”

The Constitutional Council last week declined to rule on petitions filed by the opposition and civil-rights groups to have the elections invalidated. They alleged that a range of irregularities, including voter harassment, the relocation of polling stations and inflated vote tallies, would compromise the integrity of the contest.

Bakary, who claimed victory ahead of the official results announcement, had called on his supporters to stage peaceful marches despite a ban on public gatherings. At least four people were killed Sunday in clashes between the security forces and his supporters in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, the regional governor.

The world’s oldest sitting president, Biya ran under the banner of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement. He will be inaugurated in the capital, Yaounde, on Nov. 6.

Just 12 of the 83 presidential hopefuls were allowed to run, sparking accusations by the opposition and civil-rights groups that the contest was neither free nor fair. Maurice Kamto, the leader of the main opposition party who challenged Biya in the last election in 2018, was among those excluded on the grounds that his party had nominated two candidates.

The nonagenarian has ruled Cameroon for 43 years and most citizens, whose median age is 18, have never known another leader. His advanced age and sporadic public appearances have sparked concerns about his health and raised questions about who would run the country should he die in office.

Under the constitution, the president of the senate automatically becomes interim leader in the event of the president’s death, and fresh elections must be organized within 120 days of the position falling vacant. Marcel Niat Njifenji, 91, who holds the top senate post, is also in poor health, according to multiple senate statements.

Biya barely campaigned ahead of the election and in September spent more than a week in Switzerland where he’s previously sought medical care, without providing any explanation.

His sole rally was held in Maroua in the Far North, his political stronghold, on Oct. 7. Speaking in a shaky voice, he pledged to create jobs, foster entrepreneurship and step up security — key issues in a country where 40% of the population live in poverty.

Northern Cameroon has been plagued by terrorism and kidnappings, while a secessionist war in the country’s two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and the Southwest, has claimed an estimated 6,500 lives since 2017, according to the International Crisis Group.

There has also been a succession of corruption scandals during Biya’s tenure, and the government has remained silent on all of them, said Victor Julius Ngoh, who teaches history and political science at the University of Buea in southwestern Cameroon.

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—With assistance from Alister Bull and Moses Mozart Dzawu.

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