Chad

On 24 March, Chad’s Constitutional Council announced that 10 of the 20 candidates for the forthcoming presidential election in May had been barred due to ‘irregularities’ in their applications. Amongst the excluded candidates were two outspoken critics of the government, Nasour Ibrahim Neguy Koursami and Rakhis Ahmat Saleh, the former of which is reported to be the subject of a preliminary criminal investigation by the Constitutional Council for suspected forgery in relation to his application. According to ISS Africa, a research institute, the law applied by the Council to exclude Koursami and another candidate, Clément Bagaou, was obsolete. The candidates approved to compete in the election were regarded by analysts, diplomats and the political opposition as offering little serious challenge to incumbent, Interim President Mahamat Idriss Déby Into. The barring of opposition candidates follows the death in February 2024 of leading opposition figure, Yaya Dillo Djerou, during an army assault.   

Elections Mahamat Idriss Déby

On 28 February, leader of the Socialist Party without Borders (Parti Socialiste Sans Frontières, PSF), Yaya Dillo Djerou died after a series of violent confrontations between his party and security forces. First, on 19 February, the PSF was accused of plotting to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court. A senior official in the PSF, Abakar Torabi, was accused of instigating that plot and was arrested by the internal intelligence services (Agence nationale de sécurité de l’État, ANSE). PSF supporters are alleged to have attacked the ANSE headquarters on 27 February. Finally, on 28 February the security services attacked the PSF headquarters, taking control of the facility after an intense exchange of gunfire. The PSF headquarters were later demolished. The exact circumstances of Dillo’s death are unclear; he may have been mortally wounded in the attack on ANSE on 27 February or killed at the PSF headquarters on 28 February. He was viewed as one of the main challengers to interim president Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in the elections now scheduled for May.

Mahamat Idriss Déby SDG16 Parti Socialiste Sans Frontières

On 1 January, the transitional government announced that opposition politician Succès Masra was appointed Prime Minister. The appointment came after Masra returned from self-imposed exile in November 2023, having reached an agreement with the government of Mahamat Idriss Déby that allowed him to resume political activities in the country. Masra is the leader of the Transformers party (Les Transformateurs) Along with his support for the ratification of the new constitution in December, joining the government has caused concern among other opposition parties, and even within the Transformers party. Mr. Masra has stated that he will continue to push for elections to take place.

Mahamat Idriss Déby Succès Masra Les Transformateurs

Chad completed a key step in its path to civilian government on 17 December when a new constitution was approved by referendum, with 85.9 per cent of those who voted (turnout was 62.9 per cent) supporting ratification. The referendum result was challenged in court by a coalition of opposition parties called the Bloc Fédéral, but the Supreme Court confirmed the official result on 29 December. The new constitution is in most regards very similar to the one that it replaces, maintaining a unitary state with a strong president. The vote follows a national dialogue on the constitution that took place earlier in the year, during which participants were notably split on the structure of the government and many supported a federal arrangement.

Referendum Constitutional referendum Constitution