Will Chad return to civilian rule again?

Highlights: The Chadian Constitutional Council announced the final list of candidates for the presidential elections scheduled for next May 6. The elections came after negotiations sponsored by the State of Qatar between the government, the political opposition, and the armed movements. The Constitutional Council excluded 10 of the 20 candidates in the elections, amid accusations that this exclusion aims to pave the way for General Mohamed Idriss Deby to reach power. The most prominent candidate is the current Prime Minister, the economist Dr. Sixa Mesra, former head of the opposition “Transformers” party.

The Chadian Constitutional Council announced the final list of candidates for the presidential elections scheduled for next May 6, three years after the killing of former Chadian President Idriss Deby and the army seized power.

The Chadian elections are the first steps to return to civilian rule in the African Sahel (French)

N'Djamena -

Three years after the killing of former Chadian President Idriss Deby and the army taking over power in the country, and after a road map that was not without challenges, Chad is one step away from returning to civilian rule again, with the Constitutional Council announcing the final list of candidates for the presidential elections scheduled for June 6. Next May.

The elections came after negotiations sponsored by the State of Qatar between the government, the political opposition, and the armed movements, which resulted in the signing of peace agreements between most of the opposition factions and the transitional government. The Chadians then headed to the capital, “N’Djamena,” to complete the dialogue through the comprehensive national conference, which resulted in the establishment of a constitutional committee in order to write A new constitution for the country.

Positive steps continued until the announcement of the date of the presidential elections on May 6th. The Chadian road map also included the people's approval of the constitution after a general referendum, and this constitution allows members of the transitional government to be nominated in the upcoming elections.

The Constitutional Council excluded 10 of the 20 candidates in the elections, amid accusations that this exclusion aims to pave the way for General Mohamed Idriss Deby to reach power.

Most prominent candidates:

Mohamed Idriss Deby

General Mohamed Idriss Deby, "President of the current transitional period," is the most prominent candidate and most likely to win the upcoming elections due to the great support he enjoys from the supporters of the "United Chad" coalition led by the National Salvation Movement and its allies, who exceed 200 parties, and which has controlled government in Chad for a year. 1990.

Mohamed Idriss Deby is the son of former President Idriss Deby Itno. He is a general in the Chadian army and served as commander of the Chadian anti-terrorism forces in the Sahel and Sahara, and commander of the presidential guard during his father’s rule. The son led the transitional phase that witnessed many challenges until it reached the election stage.

Mohamed Déby presents himself through a presidential program based on Chadian unity, security and stability, continuing development, and providing a decent life and justice for the Chadian people.

Sexa Misra

The second most prominent candidate is the current Prime Minister, the economist Dr. Sixa Mesra, former head of the opposition “Transformers” party, who presented himself effectively during the past years during the rule of Déby Sr., and found broad Western acceptance and support.

Sixa Mesra would have had great chances to compete with the National Salvation Movement party headed by Mohamed Deby, had it not been for Mesra’s alliance with Deby to lead the final part of the transitional phase, which caused the “Transformers” party to lose much of its audience after concluding a power-sharing deal with the transitional government, which suppressed the party’s supporters in October. The first 2022.

Despite his low popularity, he is the most accepted by the residents of southern Chad and the youth group throughout Chad. Mesra bases his presidential program on paying attention to education, health, economic development of the country, and providing security and justice for all Chadians.

Bongoro Theophile

The third candidate on the presidential list is lawyer Bongoro Theophile, candidate of the Rally and Equality Party in Chad, which Bongoro founded in 2018 and was the opposition candidate in the 2021 elections, which the late President Idriss Deby won with 79.3%.

Bongoro's electoral program is based on one Chad from north to south and from east to west, and his electoral program is based on the creation of a new nation shaped by work, and a republic based on values, with a special focus on education, health, security, and serving the people.

Albert Bahimi Badeke

As for the fourth candidate - for the National Rally of Chadian Democrats - he is the former Prime Minister in the transitional period, lawyer Albert Bahimi Badeke, who came second in the last elections held in the country before the killing of Déby in 2021.

Albert Badeke is one of the veteran politicians in this electoral race. He held several positions in previous Chadian governments, where he worked as Minister of Finance, Minister of Trade, Minister of Energy and Minerals, and Prime Minister in the government of Idriss Deby.

Albert Badeke's chances in these elections may be better than Bongoro's, but they are not better than the current Prime Minister of the government, Sixa Mesra, who comes from the same southern region as him.

Lady Besmida

Among the candidates whose candidacy was accepted by the Constitutional Council is one woman, Lady Besmida. She held the portfolio of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Production during the era of former President Idriss Deby and the former Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the current transitional government. She is also the first woman to run for presidential elections in Chad. This happened in the 2021 elections, when it received approximately 3% of the votes.

The most prominent deportees

While the Constitutional Council invalidated the acceptance of the candidacy of 10 candidates for the elections, the most prominent of whom were:

Diplomat Ahmed Hassaballah Sobian, a seasoned politician, former minister and ambassador to the government of Idriss Deby, before he joined the armed opposition in 2007 and then returned to Chad and concluded a reconciliation with Deby Sr., a general in the Chadian army. His candidacy application was rejected on the grounds that he did not resign from the army as a condition. To be accepted to run for the presidential elections.
Dr. Nassour Korsami, whose candidacy was also rejected, is a lawyer who worked as director of the National School of Administration. The Constitutional Council said that Nassour has dual nationality and possesses British, Sudanese and Chadian nationalities and was born in El Geneina in Sudan. Therefore, his admission was refused and he was referred to the prosecution to investigate charges of forgery.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Dr. Ibrahim Alifimi, the official spokesman for the National Council of Resistance for Democracy party in Chad, said that refusing to accept most of the candidates from northern Chad, and accepting candidates affiliated with the current Chadian regime, as well as accepting candidates mostly from the south, is considered a pass card for the transitional president, Mohamed. Idriss Deby to win the upcoming elections.

He added that the transitional government has fears of northern opposition figures competing with the transitional president, Mohamed Deby, for fear of dividing the votes of voters between loyalists and opponents. Therefore, the government, through the Constitutional Council installed by Mohamed Deby, annulled the acceptance of the candidacy of the most important opposition members from the north.

Northern candidates

For his part, journalist Musa Njidimbay said that the transitional government used a clear strategy to exclude strong competitors and accept the files of competitors who do not pose a threat to the victory of the transitional government candidate, Mohamed Deby, pointing out that excluding northern Chadian candidates who have political experience and alliances in the north is a prelude to the victory of Mohamed Deby. In the next elections.

Moussa added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the transitional government has adopted a strategy of “divide and rule” among the candidates of southern Chad, most of whose candidates have been accepted, and the government can use the tools of political money in order to disperse the votes of candidates from the south, stressing that Mohamed Deby’s path has become devoid of any Challenges after neutralizing the real competitors in the elections.

Chad's upcoming elections are considered the first in the Sahel countries after several military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and a coup against the constitution in Chad. Chad will be the first country in the Sahel to return to civilian rule after 3 years of transitional phase.

Source: Al Jazeera