YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AFP)—Cameroonian former minister-turned-opposition challenger Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed election victory on Tuesday against incumbent President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 43 years, although official results for the weekend vote are not expected for two weeks.

Biya, aged 92, the world’s oldest serving head of state, is vying for an eighth term to extend his decades in power.

But former employment minister 79-year-old Tchiroma generated unexpected enthusiasm among voters in the central African nation.

Supporters on both sides are claiming victory based on images circulating on social media of blackboards and papers tallying the results.

“Our victory is clear. It must be respected,” Tchiroma, who until June was part of the government, declared in a video on Facebook on Tuesday.

He urged the government to “accept the truth of the ballot box” or “plunge the country into turmoil”.

“The people have chosen,” he said, promising to publish detailed election results, region by region.

While it is permitted to publish tally sheets from individual polling stations, it is illegal to announce the overall result of the vote before the Constitutional Council.

“This is the red line that must not be crossed”, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji told a press conference late on Sunday.

The authorities have not announced the turnout or the exact date when the official outcome of the election will be declared, other than that it is due by October 26.

The delay has fuelled fears of fraud in favour of Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and has won every election in the past 20 years with more than 70 percent of the vote.

In the 2018 presidential election, opposition challenger Maurice Kamto declared himself winner the day after the vote.

He was subsequently arrested. His supporters’ rallies were dispersed with tear gas and water cannon and dozens were detained. Some are still in jail.