Bloomberg Hails 92-Year-Old 'Victory' in Cameroon, Ignores 12% Turnout
Bloomberg Politics reports Paul Biya, 92, has 'won' another term in Cameroon, extending his 42-year rule. What's conveniently left out of their triumphal headline? The 2018 election, cited as a precedent, saw a dismal 12% voter turnout, with allegations of widespread fraud and voter suppression from observers and human rights groups. Funny how some 'elections' get meticulously scrutinized for
foreign interference, while others get a pat on the back as a testament to 'stability'. One might wonder if we'd see similar celebratory headlines if a nonagenarian leader with a 12% turnout 'won' an election in, say, Venezuela or Iran. The framing, tragically, depends less on democratic principles and more on whose geopolitical chess piece just moved. Is it an election, or merely a changing of
the calendar page, when the West decides it’s a 'stable' outcome?