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YAOUNDE. – Cameroonian President Paul Biya has won re-election by a landslide, the Constitutional Council said on Monday, extending his 36-year rule amid opposition claims of voter fraud.

Looming over his victory is a secessionist uprising in the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions in which hundreds, including civilians, have died in fighting between the army and militia groups.

At 85, Biya is the oldest leader in sub-Saharan Africa. The win gives him another seven years in power and cements his place as one of Africa’s longest serving rulers. Most Cameroonians have known just one president.

He won 71 percent of the vote but opposition candidates said the election was marred by ballot stuffing and intimidation. The Constitutional Council last week rejected all 18 petitions claiming fraud.

Monday’s official results showed Biya winning with a big margin in nine of 10 regions, and the announcement of his victory was greeted with cheers and shouts in the assembly hall. In the South and East regions he won over 90 percent of the vote. His closest rival, Maurice Kamto, won 14 percent overall.

The announcement follows two weeks of tension in the coffee and oil-producing country where, despite steady economic growth above 4 percent a year since the last election, most live in poverty. Kamto claimed victory for himself on Oct. 8 based on his campaign’s figures.

In recent days, police silenced opposition marches in the port city of Douala, where Kamto is popular.

Authorities have defended the process. “The election was free, fair and credible in spite of the security challenges in the English-speaking regions,” said the President of Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, on Monday. – Reuters