Mahamat Deby Declared Winner of Chad’s Presidential Election 2024
General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, Chad’s junta leader, has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election.
The final results, announced on Thursday, May 16, showed Deby securing 61 percent of the vote, significantly ahead of the second-place candidate, Succes Masra, who received 18.54 percent. Masra, the opposition leader, acknowledged the council’s ruling and did not indicate plans to contest it.
Deby assumed power in 2021 following the death of his father, President Idriss Deby, who was killed by rebels.
Upon his father’s death, Deby declared himself the interim leader. His victory marks a continuation of the Deby family’s long-standing control over the country, which began when his father seized power in a coup in the early 1990s.
Chad, an oil-producing nation, is the first of several coup-affected states in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa to hold elections in an effort to return to constitutional rule.
The country remains a crucial Western ally in the fight against al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked insurgencies in the region.
In contrast, neighboring countries Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have expelled Western forces and sought support from Russia.
However, relations with the West have been strained recently. Last month, Chad’s air force chief requested the U.S. to halt activities at an air base due to paperwork issues, prompting the U.S. to temporarily withdraw some troops.
Deby’s election victory reinforces the family’s dominance in Chad’s political landscape, maintaining the status quo established by his father more than three decades ago.
Mahamat Deby Declared Winner of Chad’s Presidential Election 2024
