Chad held a presidential election on Monday to end the three years of military administration and usher in democracy.
According to the Daily Post, General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who took power in 2021 following his father’s death, is the favorite among the 10 candidates.
It stated that there are concerns about the fairness of the election, as Chad has never experienced a peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence in 1960.
There are 10 candidates on the ballot, including a woman. Some 8 million people are registered to vote, in a country of more than 17 million people, one of the poorest in the world. Analysts say Deby Itno is expected to win the vote. A leading opposition figure Yaya Dillo, the current president’s cousin, was killed in February in circumstances that remain unclear.
Despite Déby’s promises of a temporary presidency, his administration has been marked by repression of opposition demonstrations, leading to doubts about the election’s credibility.
Chad is seen by the U.S. and France as one of the last remaining stable allies in the vast Sahel region following military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in recent years. The ruling juntas in all three nations have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance instead.
