Chad – Yesterday, Monday, Chad witnessed presidential elections that would end 3 years of military rule, while the opposition calls for a boycott of them, considering that they aim to “perpetuate the rule” of General Mohamed Idriss Déby Itno.
Voters will choose between extending the Deby family’s decades-long rule or Deby’s prime minister, Sokse Masra.
At the beginning of the election campaign, observers expected that Déby (40 years old), who killed his main competitor and prevented others from running, would win.
However, economist Massra (40 years old) has mobilized significant support in recent weeks, which may lead to a second round.
Déby was announced as interim president by a council of 15 generals in 2021 following his father, Idriss Déby Itno, was killed on the front lines while supervising a battle with rebels following 30 years of rule.
Déby Jr. promised an 18-month transition to democracy, but later extended it for two years.
On October 20, 2022, the army and police opened fire on demonstrators protesting the extension of the transitional phase, including members of the “Raiders” party led by Massra.
At that time, 300 young men were killed, according to international non-governmental organizations, and regarding 50 according to the regime.
Also, Yahya (Yaya) Dilo, the main opponent of the military junta, was killed at the end of last February in an army attack on his party headquarters.
Masra was one of the opponents who were forced to leave the country, but he later returned and was appointed prime minister in January.
The other eight candidates are not expected to receive many votes, and are either unknown or considered not hostile to the regime.
The International Federation for Human Rights warned that the elections appear “neither fair, nor free, nor democratic,” pointing to “increasing human rights violations,” including the killing of Delo.
The International Crisis Group also warned that “a number of problems that occurred in the period before the elections cast doubt on their integrity,” also noting that the Chadian Constitutional Council excluded ten competing candidates from the ballot in Deby’s strongholds.
Regarding Masra, she said that “a large percentage of his voters now consider him a puppet in the hands of those in power,” but some analysts say that Masra is actually seeking to become president.
Voting is scheduled to end at five in the followingnoon, and the results will be announced on May 21, while the second round, if necessary, will be on June 22.
Source: AFP
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2024-05-07 17:36:16
