The Chadian Constitutional Council approves the nomination of 10 personalities for long-awaited presidential elections (French)

On Sunday, Chad's Constitutional Council agreed to accept 10 candidates for this year's long-awaited presidential elections, including interim President Mohamed Idriss Deby and newly appointed Prime Minister Soussis Massra.

The Central African country is scheduled to hold the first round of presidential elections next May, as part of the transition to democracy from military junta rule.

The list of candidates, which was released today, includes opposition leader Masra, who was appointed prime minister of the transitional government last January.

Earlier this March, Deby confirmed his intention to run, and this is the first time in Chad's history that the country's president and prime minister have faced each other in presidential elections.

The first round of voting is scheduled to take place on May 6, the second on June 22, and preliminary results will appear on July 7.

Following the killing of his father, Idriss Deby, who ruled for a long period in clashes with the rebels, Mohamed Idris was appointed on April 20, 2021, president of the transitional period, when he was still 37 years old at the head of a military council that included 15 senior officers.

Déby Jr. promised an 18-month transitional period to hold elections, but his government later adopted decisions that postponed the elections until the current year (2024) and allowed him to run for president, sparking protests that were violently suppressed by security forces.

In December, Chadians voted in favor of a new constitution that critics said could help strengthen Déby's grip on power because it would allow him to run for president.

Massra, a staunch opponent of the junta, fled after dozens were killed when security forces suppressed demonstrations in the capital, N'Djamena, in October 2022.

This government is considered one of the many military juntas currently ruling West and Central Africa. The region has witnessed 8 coups since 2020, raising fears of a decline in democracy. It is the first of these transitional authorities preparing to organize elections.

Source: Agencies