Military leader wins Chad elections, opponent calls fraud

NOS News•today, 11:17

The presidential elections in Chad were won by the military leader, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno. According to the preliminary results, Déby received 61.3 percent of the votes. His main rival for the presidency, Prime Minister Succès Masra, disputes the result and says there was fraud.

Masra accused the authorities in a Facebook live video of manipulating the results. Shortly afterwards, the preliminary results were announced, which were actually not expected until May 21. According to the election commission, Masra remained stuck at 18.5 percent of the votes.

In the 11-minute video, Masra declared himself the winner. He asked soldiers, police and other security forces to ignore Déby’s orders. “These orders will put you on the wrong side of Chad’s history,” Masra said. “You will have to do things that cannot be reversed and are unforgivable.”

Masra also called on his supporters to support him and reject the election office’s results. “To all the people in Chad who voted for change, who voted for me, I say: mobilize. Do it quietly, in a spirit of peace.”

Déby seized power in 2021 when his father, who had been president since 1990, died. He promised to hold free and democratic elections within 18 months. His government extended the transition period until 2024, allowing Déby to remain interim president. He promised not to stand for election, but did so anyway.

Since the death of the former president, there have been frequent riots and demonstrations. Many demonstrators were arrested or killed. More than sixty people died after expressing their dissatisfaction with what they saw as the undemocratic situation in the country.

After the provisional election results were released, supporters of Déby took to the streets in the capital N’Djamena with flags. In a victory speech, Déby promised to serve all residents, “those who voted for me and those who made different choices.” He also expressed support for “the unfortunate candidates who lost the battle.”

Chad is seen by the US and France as one of the last stable allies in the Sahel region after military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in recent years. The ruling juntas have expelled Western troops in these countries and called in Russian mercenaries for security assistance.