Chad: Junta chief Deby declared winner of presidential vote

Military leader Mahamat Deby Itno has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election in Chad, according to provisional results released Thursday.

The outcome of Monday’s vote extends his family’s decades-long grip on power.

Masra feared election would be rigged

The ANGE electoral commission said Deby garnered 61.03% of votes, beating his main opponent, Prime Minister Succes Masra, who only managed 18.53%.

Soldiers fired shots in the air in the capital N’Djamena out of joy and to deter protesters, according to the AFP news agency. Masra had earlier claimed victory and warned Deby’s team would manipulate the results.

Seizing power

Chad held its long-delayed presidential election following three years of military rule. Deby Itno, also known as Mahamat Idriss Deby, came to power after his father, who spent three decades at the helm, was killed fighting rebels in 2021.

The oil-exporting country of nearly 18 million people hasn’t had a free and fair transfer of power since it became independent in 1960. This independence came after decades of French colonial rule.