MAURICE Kamto, chief opponent of Cameroonian President Paul Biya, yesterday called for mass protests next week to demand a ceasefire in the country’s insurgency hit English-speaking areas and electoral reform.

Kamto, who officially lost to Biya in 2018 elections, was arrested in January, 2019, following a march protesting the vote. Biya ordered him freed nine months later under international pressure.

Kamto urged “Cameroonians to turn out in large numbers” next Tuesday to press for electoral reform and a ceasefire.

He and co-signers of the statement warned that if the demands were not headed, further protests would be organised to demand Biya’s resignation.

Last month Kamto threatened to mobilise protests if Biya, who has been in power since 1982, organised regional elections.

He contends elections before finding a solution to the secessionist conflict in the anglophone regions would amount to supporting partition.

In the English-speaking northeast and southwest, the army has been fighting secessionists since 2017, and both sides are accused of abuses against civilians.

Yet, the head of state announced the elections for December 6. – AFP, September 19, 2020.