Chad’s transitional leader, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, is set to take the oath of office on Thursday, following a fiercely disputed election that has left opposition parties in the north-central African country reeling.
Deby’s claimed 61% victory on May 6 has been met with widespread skepticism by international NGOs, who argue the election was a flawed process, and his main rival, who denounces it as a “masquerade” lacking authenticity.
After his father’s fatal encounter with rebels in April 2021, a group of 15 top generals installed him as transitional president, succeeding the late Idriss Deby Itno, who had dominated Chad’s political landscape with an unyielding grip for 30 years.
As the new leader takes the oath of office, Chad closes the chapter on three years of military control, paving the way for a fresh start in a nation crucial to the fight against terrorism in Africa’s troubled Sahel region.
Following his rise to power in 2021, Deby garnered rapid international support, spearheaded by France, which has struggled to maintain its influence in its former West African colonies, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where military takeovers have challenged French interests.
The ceremony will officially sanction what the opposition has long denounced as a Deby family stranglehold on power, a development that has provoked widespread ire and allegations of cronyism.
Prime Minister Succes Masra, who once vehemently opposed Deby, unexpectedly submitted his resignation on Wednesday, mere months after taking office, as his party reeled from a decisive electoral loss, bringing his short-lived premiership to an abrupt close.
Economist Masra, who secured a respectable 18.5% share of the vote, has taken issue with the election verdict, contesting the results and fueling speculation about the legitimacy of the process.
The opposition has fiercely disputed his claim of victory in the first round, branding him a junta stooge, as Chad’s ruling powers have unleashed a wave of violence against dissenting voices, excluding top opposition figures from the election and brutally silencing any opposition.
After Chad’s Constitutional Council rejected Masra’s bid to annul the result, he said there was “no other national legal recourse” and called on supporters to “remain mobilised” but “peaceful”.
Deby’s own cousin Yaya Dillo Djerou, who had emerged as the leading opposition candidate to the general, was shot and killed at point-blank range during an army assault on February 28, his party said.
Read also: Chad PM Hands In Resignation Letter To Newly Elected Leader
The impressive gathering of world leaders at the investiture ceremony is a powerful endorsement of the 40-year-old president’s leadership, highlighting the global recognition of his presidency as a significant force on the international scene.
In a nod to diplomatic continuity, French President Emmanuel Macron is dispatching Franck Riester, his minister for foreign trade and Francophonie, to represent France, building on the rapport established during Macron’s 2021 visit to N’Djamena, where he paid respects to the late Marshal Deby and met with his successor.
With 1,000 troops stationed in Chad, France’s military footprint in the Sahel region is sustained by its engagement with this impoverished nation. Macron’s decision to congratulate Deby on his election victory was a rare display of international support, underscoring the geopolitical significance of this relationship.
As jihadist insurgencies continue to ravage the Sahel region, a growing number of nations have opted to cut ties with France and instead cozy up to Russia, seeking a fresh start and a more robust security framework to combat the escalating threat.
By being among the first to congratulate Deby, President Putin demonstrated Russia’s keen interest in the region, and the makeup of the Russian delegation at the N’Djamena ceremony will be closely analyzed by experts, who will be seeking to gauge the extent of Russia’s influence and engagement in the Sahel.