Chad to hold first round of presidential election on May 6

AFP , Tuesday 27 Feb 2024

Chad will hold a presidential election first-round vote on May 6, ending a transition period that will have lasted three years, the electoral commission announced on Tuesday.

 Idriss Deby Itno
File Photo: Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno (C) casts his ballot at a polling station in N djamena in 2021. AFP

 

General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was proclaimed head of an army-run administration two years ago after rebels killed his father, who had ruled the desert nation with an iron fist for three decades.

Mahamat Deby promised to hand power back to civilians and organize elections within 18 months but added another two years of transition.

The end of the transition period was pushed back to October 10, 2024.

"Beyond this date, the country will fall into a legal void, synonymous with foreseeable chaos," Ahmet Bartchiret, president of the ANGE electoral commission said.

"It is therefore imperative to hold the elections before."

In mid-January, his father's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) designated Deby Itno as its candidate for the presidential election.

Deby had told the African Union he would not run for president, but a new constitution adopted by a mid-December referendum allows him to do so.

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