YAOUNDE, CAMEROON—Polls closed in Cameroon Sunday evening and vote counting began in an election that will likely see Africa’s oldest leader win another term amid fighting and threats from separatists that prevented residents in English-speaking regions from voting. Election Cameroon (ELECAM) officers empty the ballot boxes to start the counting on the outskirts of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, on Sunday. The military killed two armed men in the English-speaking northwest town of Bamenda, according to Governor Deben Tchoffo of the Northwest region. What began as protests two years ago by teachers and lawyers in the English-speaking regions against what they charged was their marginalization by majority French speakers turned deadly after a government crackdown. All voters in the English-speaking regions had to be screened, present voter’s cards and identity cards before they were able to cast their ballots.

Source: thestar October 07, 2018 22:18 UTC