Chad’s Interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby Wins Election Amid Vote-Rigging Concerns

Chad’s interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby has secured victory in the presidential election with more than 61% of the vote, as per the state election body. This makes Chad the first of West and Central Africa’s coup-affected nations to transition back to constitutional governance through elections.

Nevertheless, opposition parties have raised concerns about potential vote manipulation. The head of the National Election Management Agency, Ahmed Bartichet, announced that Deby garnered 61.3% of the votes, comfortably surpassing the 50% threshold required to avoid a second round of voting.

In the meantime, Deby’s main rival and top opposition contender, Succes Masra, received 18.53% of the votes. Masra declared his triumph in a live Facebook broadcast, urging security forces and followers to resist any attempts at electoral fraud.

The contested election outcomes are part of a tense electoral period marred by the assassination of opposition figure Yaya Dillo, the exclusion of prominent opposition figures from the candidate roster, and other issues that have cast doubt on the credibility of the electoral process.