Chad’s Constitutional Council on Tuesday confirmed the MPS party of military ruler President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno as the winner of December general elections which were boycotted by opposition parties, citing a final vote tally.Council president Jean-Bernard Padare found Deby’s party had won a solid majority in the first legislative elections held in the country since 2011, taking 124 seats out of 188.”We are on the verge of definitively turning the page on the transition to move resolutely towards the development of our dear homeland,” said Deby.More than one-third of lawmakers — 64 in total — are women, Padare said, as he hailed “clear” progress towards parity of men and women in parliament.Deby and his government presented the elections as the final stage in the transition to democracy after he seized power in 2021 following the death of his father, who had ruled the Sahel country for three decades.Voting took place on December 29 against a backdrop of attacks by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region and the ending of a military agreement with former colonial master France.The final results, including the seat distribution, confirm provisional results announced earlier this month by the National Agency for the Management of Elections (ANGE).However the Constitutional Council did announce that it had invalidated 2,312 electoral reports for “various irregularities”, though these had not had “significant consequences on the results as a whole”, according to Padare.- ‘Resounding failure’ -The Council added it had studied “243 requests from candidates, political parties and groupings of parties” contesting outcomes or calling for a re-run, which had led to some cancellations, rectifications or adjustments “that seem to be justified,” said Padare.Some eight million Chadians — 51.56 percent of those registered as eligible to vote — cast their ballots in the elections, according to ANGE.Official results had been due for release on February 3.The main Transformers opposition party had slammed the electoral process as a “resounding failure” given its boycott and that of other opposition groups.But in a message to rivals on Facebook, Deby said that “to the political parties, whether they participated or chose to boycott the election, I extend a fraternal hand … The diversity of our opinions must therefore be a strength, not a weakness.”The assembly had been due for renewal in 2015.But that date was postponed several times owing to jihadist threats, financial problems and then the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as the post-coup transition following Deby senior’s killing by rebels after 30 years in power.A transitional parliament was then appointed by presidential decree in 2021 ahead of the path finally leading to elections.
Tue, 21 Jan 2025 19:59:23 GMT
