Chad: Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno succeeds father as president in election
Opposition candidate demanded outright annulment of May 6, 2024, presidential elections
Originally published on Global Voices
Image of Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno. Screenshot from the Tv5monde YouTube channel. Fair use.
On May 6, 2024, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno was elected to a five-year term as the next president of Chad. His election marked the end of a transition period that began in April 2021, following the death of Idriss Déby Itno, president from 1990 to 2021.
According to the provisional results that the National Election Management Agency (ANGE) announced on May 9, 2024, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno received 61.03 percent of the vote. This was a sweeping victory over his main rivals. These included his prime minister, Succès Masra, who came second with 18.53 percent of the vote, and Albert Pahimi Padacké, who received 16.92 percent.
Idriss Déby Itno’s son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Into, has been an army general since December 2021. He had a military career in the Chadian armed forces, which prepared him to succeed his father.
Over 8 million citizens out of an estimated population of over 18 million were eligible to vote. There was a participation rate of over 75 percent, and over 6 million citizens fulfilled their civic duty.
After ANGE announced the provisional results, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno made a televised address that BBC Afrique (BBC Africa) covered in an article:
Je suis désormais le président élu de tous les Tchadiens, aussi bien le président, de ceux qui ont voté pour moi, mais aussi le président de ceux qui ont fait d'autres choix.
I am now the president of all Chadians, not only for those who voted for me but also for those who made different choices.
However, before this announcement, Succès Masra, the Transformateurs (The Transformers) party leader and Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno’s primary opponent, claimed to have won the election in an 11-minute live video on Facebook:
In this live, Masra stated:
Tout est accompli, la victoire du Peuple est éclatante et sans tâche. (…) Un petit nombre d'individus pensent pouvoir faire croire que l'élection a été remportée par le même système qui dirige le Tchad depuis des décennies, avec des résultats que l'on connaît. Et pourtant nous avons promis à tous, et c'est ce qui va être fait, un Tchad sans vengeance, un Tchad réconcilié où chacun aura sa place.
All is accomplished. This is a resounding victory for the people (…). A small group of people think they can make people believe that the same system that has ruled Chad for decades, with the results we all know, won the election. However, we promised everyone, and so it will be. A unified Chad without vengeance where everyone will have their place.
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Political reactions
After the announcement of the results, political figures close to the candidates shared their views on the election. Statements on Radio France Internationale (RFI) ranged from satisfaction to disappointment. Chadian Minister of Regional Planning, Housing, and Urbanism Mahamat Assileck Halata said:
Notre président [Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno] est celui de tous les Tchadiens. Les choses se sont passées dans la norme pour ce vote et pour la compilation, quatre jours après le scrutin.
Our president [Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno] is the president of all Chadian citizens. Everything went according to plan for the vote and the count four days after.
Clément Sianka, the spokesperson for Albert Pahimi Padacké (the candidate who came third with over 16 percent of the vote), resigned himself to congratulate Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno on his victory. He told RFI:
Il peut y avoir certes quelques réclamations mais cela ne remet pas en cause la victoire de Mahamat Idriss Déby. Désormais, la place n'est pas à une guéguerre politicienne.
Although there may be a few complaints, this doesn’t affect Mahamat Idriss Déby’s victory. There’s no room for political squabbling.
This result was a total disappointment for the Transformateurs party. In another interview with RFI, Sitack Yombatina Beni, the party’s vice-president, responsible for governance issues, reforms, and teaching, talked of theft and a sham, and said that the National Election Management Agency had become a “demon.” Sitack Yombatina Beni believes that:
Certains procès-verbaux de bureaux de vote sont arrivés dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi ou même dans la journée de jeudi. En quelques heures, ce n'était donc pas possible d'avoir les résultats.
Some polling station reports arrived on Wednesday night or Thursday. So, getting the results in just a few hours was impossible.
He concluded:
Depuis 1996, le Mouvement patriotique du salut (MPS), parti au pouvoir, a toujours organisé des élections tronquées, truquées.
Since 1996, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), Chad’s ruling party, has always held truncated and rigged elections.
In response to the reaction of Succès Masra’s supporters, Mahamat Assileck Halata added:
La déception des Transformateurs est à la hauteur de ce qu'ils pensaient faire. Mais ils ont le temps de faire leurs observations, leurs contestations devant la Cour constitutionnelle et on verra bien qui est le véritable président élu.
The Transformateurs’ disappointment is as great as their expectations. However, they have time to submit their observations and challenges to the Constitutional Court, and then we will see who the real president-elect is.
Read: Chad: The media environment fails to protect journalists
Déby’s supporters celebrate
With all the excitement surrounding his resounding victory, the newly elected president’s supporters expressed their joy. In a France24 article, Agence France Presse (AFP) journalists reported gunfire in the streets of the capital, N’Djamena:
Peu après l'annonce, des militaires tiraient en l'air à l'arme automatique à N'Djamena, de joie et manifestement pour dissuader les gens de se rassembler. Quelques habitants couraient pour se terrer chez eux et les rues ont vite été désertées.
Just after the announcement in N'Djamena, military personnel fired automatic weapons into the air in celebration and to deter the people from gathering. Some residents ran home, and the streets soon became deserted.
Quoting the same AFP journalists, France24 reported:
Dans le centre de la capitale, c'était l'inverse près du Palais présidentiel, de nombreux partisans de Déby célébraient sa victoire en criant et chantant et klaxonnant dans leurs voitures, recouvertes du drapeau tchadien pour certaines. Des quidams tiraient aussi en l'air des rafales d'armes automatiques. Au moins deux adolescents ont été blessés par des balles qui retombaient.
In central N'Djamena, close to the presidential palace, many of Déby’s supporters celebrated his victory by cheering, singing, and honking their car horns. Some were draped in Chadian flags, and some were also firing automatic weapons into the air. Falling bullets injured at least two young people.
This Africanews video shows these celebrations:
Masra demanded annulment
Prime Minister Masra, a staunch opponent of Déby's, intended to go much further than simply claiming victory. As announced on Facebook, he appealed to the Constitutional Council:
Aidé par nos avocats, nous avons saisi ce jour le Conseil Constitutionnel, pour la vérité des urnes. Merci à vous tous citoyens qui avez contribué à la documentation de la vérité des urnes.(…)
Today, with the help of our lawyers, we have appealed to the Constitutional Council for the actual election results. Thank you to all citizens who have helped document the truth (…)
He also shared the acknowledgment of his request:
In short, Masra requested that the Constitutional Council annul these elections. Sitack Yombatina Beni, vice president of his party, confirmed this. He told France24:
Notre requête, c'est l'annulation pure et simple de cette mascarade électorale. Toutes les preuves sont dans les clés USB jointes à la requête auprès du Conseil constitutionnel. Elles contiennent des vidéos de bourrage d'urnes, de vols et de menaces mais surtout des urnes qui ont été enlevées par les militaires pour être dépouillées ailleurs.
Our request is for the outright annulment of this sham election. All the evidence is in the USB drives included in the request submitted to the Constitutional Council. The drives not only contain videos of ballot box stuffing, theft, and threats but also boxes that the military removed for counting elsewhere.
The Constitutional Council had until May 21, 2024, to confirm the National Election Management Agency’s results. Once confirmed, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno became the fifth elected president of the Republic of Chad, thus putting an end to a lengthy political transition in a country that remains politically divided.