Chad to hold presidential polls on May 6 to end transition period

KIGALI, Rwanda

Chad will hold presidential elections on May 6, the National Election Management Agency announced Tuesday, marking a transition to civilian rule.

Presidential “electoral campaigns will be carried out from April 14 to May 4, while the proclamation of the provisional results will be done on May 21,” Ahmed Bartchiret, the election agency’s chairman, told reporters in the capital N'Djamena.

Mahamat Idriss Deby took over the leadership of Chad in 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, died on the frontlines of a war against rebels after ruling for 30 years.

The younger Deby had pledged to hand over power to an elected government after 18 months -- a deadline that was not achieved, before postponing elections to this year.

The end of the transition period was rescheduled to Oct.10 this year.

Bartchiret warned that “beyond that date, Chad will fall into a legal void, synonymous with predictable chaos.”

It is therefore imperative to hold the elections before Oct.10, he said.

In January, the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party designated Deby as its candidate for the presidential election after a new constitution adopted following a December referendum allowed him to seek election.