flees

The Gambia hosts Issa Tchiroma Bakary after Paul Biya, Cameroon’s leader for 43 years, wins yet another election.

Cameroon’s opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary has fled to The Gambia “for the purpose of ensuring his safety” in the wake of the recent presidential election that returned longtime ruler Paul Biya to power amid deadly protests.

The Gambian government confirmed in a statement on Sunday that it was hosting Tchiroma “temporarily” in the country on “humanitarian grounds” while pursuing a “peaceful and diplomatic resolution” to post-electoral tensions in Cameroon.

The statement, posted on the Facebook page of the office of Gambian President Adama Barrow, said The Gambia was working with regional partners like Nigeria to “support a peaceful and negotiated outcome” following October’s disputed election.

Official election results showed 92-year-old Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, secured his eighth term in office with 53.7 percent of the vote, against 35.2 percent for Tchiroma, a former government minister leading the Cameroon National Salvation Front.

But Tchiroma, who claimed vote tampering, stated he was the election’s real winner. “This is not democracy, it is electoral theft, a constitutional coup as blatant as it is shameful,” he said at the time.

The opposition leader repeatedly urged supporters to protest against the official election outcome, urging them to stage “dead city” operations by closing shops and halting other public activities.

The Cameroonian government has confirmed that at least five people were killed during the protests, although the opposition and civil society groups claim the figures are much higher.

The government has said it plans to initiate legal proceedings against Tchiroma for his “repeated calls for insurrection.”

Biya came to power in 1982 following the resignation of Cameroon’s first president and has ruled since, following a 2008 constitutional amendment that abolished term limits.

He has ruled the country with an iron fist, repressing all political opposition.

Alan Carr has fled the UK ahead of the final of The Celebrity Traitors, as he’s convinced he’s the ‘most hated man in the country’ after killing off his co-stars

Alan Carr has fled the country before The Celebrity Traitors finale, declaring: “I’m the most hated man in the UK.” The comedian brutally eliminated beloved actress Celia Imrie in full view during Thursday night’s episode, and revealed his backstabbing antics on the programme have left him deeply unpopular.

Nevertheless, the 49-year-old confesses he reckons his fellow celebrities are “thick” for failing to spot his obvious eliminations. Chatting whilst taking his nephew and niece to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, Alan said: “That’s why I’m in America.

“I’m the most hated man in the UK. I’ve had to come here to Orlando to get away from it all – everyone hates me. My Christmas card list is getting smaller and smaller.”, reports the Daily Star.

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Yet he reckons his showbiz mates should have spotted his blatant murders – particularly as he struggles to hide his reactions. Speaking to Heart radio in Orlando, Alan – who also eliminated his mate Paloma Faith on the programme – added: “I’ve got loads of celebrity friends, but are they thick?

“I’m giggling when people are murdered. When they don’t come down for breakfast, I just stick cheese in my mouth.” He went on: “It’s stressful murdering every day… I’m getting a taste for it.”

Fellow Traitor Cat Burns, 25, confesses the spotlight is all “a bit mad” and revealed she is managing it by “mainly just staying at home”. Meanwhile, recently eliminated star Kate Garraway has backed Alan to triumph in the competition.

The Good Morning Britain host declared: “I think he’s going to win. I don’t know. I’m going to say it now.” She revealed that his strategy has been to burst into fits of laughter during loyalty challenges, particularly whilst playing a round where contestants had to share two truths and one falsehood.

She explained: “The flaw in the plan was everybody slightly flickered, their eyes changed so when you say ‘are you a mother of five’ they just go yes because they’re relaxed about that. But on every single one Alan looked guilty, even on the ones that were true.

“So therefore I think his thing is that he looks guilty and the more he mucks up and the more he sweats and the more he can’t get out loud ‘I’m a Faithful’, then the more it plays in to ‘Alan’s just being Alan’. And I think that’s going to be the genius.”

The Celebrity Traitors finale broadcasts on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.

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