Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 92, has been re-elected for an eighth term with 53.7 per cent of the votes.

This is according to official results announced by the Constitutional Council on Monday.

Rival candidate and former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2 per cent, the council said.

Chiroma had claimed victory against the incumbent two days after the October 12 election.

Earlier, four people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of a Cameroon opposition leader who claims to have won the recent presidential elections, authorities said ahead of the announcement of official results on Monday.

Tchiroma, who challenged President Paul Biya’s 43-year grip on power in the October 12 ballot, had called on his supporters to march peacefully on the eve of the announcement, despite a ban on public gatherings.

Since last week, supporters of Issa Tchiroma, who according to his own tally won 54.8 per cent of the votes against 31.3 per cent for Biya, have taken to the streets to defend his claimed victory.

However, most analysts expected the 92-year-old Biya to win an eighth term in a system his critics say has been increasingly rigged.