Chad votes in first parliamentary election in more than a decade: What you need to know | Election News

Chadians are voting in parliamentary, regional and municipal elections for the first time in more than a decade, continuing the once-military-turned-civilian campaign to put the Central African country on the path to democracy. But members of the opposition are skeptical.

Officials in N’djamena say Sunday’s vote will officially end the three-year “period of transition” that followed the death of Idriss Deby Itno in 2021 and the succession of his son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, who was confirmed as president in 2021. elections in May.

However, many opposition parties are boycotting the election, calling it a “sham” and accusing the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) government of trying to legitimize what they call a political monarchy.

Chad, one of Africa’s poorest countries, is the first in a series of coup-dominated states in the Sahel to hold elections as promised, even if the elections have been delayed. The country has known no coups or repressive governments and has been ruled by the Deby family since 1991.

Sunday’s vote comes amid a host of security challenges: Sudan’s war is raging on its eastern border; the armed group of Boko Haram is attacking the security areas around Lake Chad; and N’Djamena recently broke a military agreement with its former colonial power and staunch ally, France.

Rights groups say that without the full participation of the opposition, the election will not be fair.

“It will be difficult to have credible elections without involving everyone,” Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International in neighboring Nigeria, told Al Jazeera. “The fact that some are boycotting the election shows that the process and plan must be reviewed to ensure that a level playing field is provided to accommodate all the people of Chad.”

Here’s what you need to know about the parliamentary elections and why the country’s early steps towards democracy are controversial:

How will voters choose?

• There are approximately 8.3 million registered voters out of 18 million people in the country who will vote for legislators in the country’s 188-seat parliament. Parties need a majority of 95 seats.
• More than 100 political parties have nominated about 1,100 people in the parliamentary elections. Winners are chosen either by first-past-the-post or by a majority vote, depending on the size of the district.
• Voters will also elect regional and local governments in all 22 regions and the capital, N’Djamena.
• The Transformers Party and a number of other opposition parties are boycotting the election saying the voting will not be free or fair.

Why haven’t there been parliamentary elections in over a decade?

Parliamentary elections were last held in 2011. Although the term of the members of Parliament was supposed to end in 2015, the government postponed the voting indefinitely saying that there is no money to organize the elections.

Although the landlocked country is an oil producer, it ranks fourth from the bottom on the United Nations Human Development Index due to years of economic stagnation and bad weather.

Despite the cry of the opposition members that the election be held soon, former President Deby continued to postpone it. In 2019, the newly established National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) finally promised to hold elections in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted those plans.

After the death of his father at the hands of rebels in May 2021, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, 40, took over the reins of power, despite high calls for him to be elected by opposition parties. The military dissolved the parliament and installed a one-year Military Council, headed by Deby. In October 2022, the leader disappointed many Chadians when he extended the transition period to 2024. Thousands, mostly young people, took to the streets to protest, but the security forces opened fire on them, killing more than 100 people.

Success Masra, the young leader of the opposition Transformers Party, has been at the forefront of the protests. Masra fled to America following the killing.

Was there another election?

Yes, the authorities held a successful referendum in December 2023 that supported a new constitution, in effect, and new elections.

In May this year, Deby won the disputed presidential election, amid allegations that his party rigged the vote with the help of the National Election Management Agency (ANGE).

Critics also accused Deby of killing opposition parties before the election. Chadian soldiers killed Yaya Dillo, Deby’s cousin and a member of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF) in February. He was widely seen as a major contender for the presidency at the time.

Officials said Dillo led the deadly attack on the intelligence agency’s headquarters on February 28, but Dillo denied that. Dillo was killed in a shootout the next day, along with several other PSF members. Many members are still being held in the notorious Koro Toro prison, according to Amnesty International. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch in 2022 wrote that prison officials tortured and killed protesters detained at the facility.

Deby won 61.3% of the vote, angering the opposition who claimed the election was rigged. Human rights organizations, such as the International Federation for Human Rights, said the presidential election was “unbelievable, unfree, and undemocratic”.

The president fared better than his main rival, candidate Masra of the Transformers party, who came in second with 18.5% of the vote. Masra returned to the country in January this year after the peace agreement and was appointed prime minister in what many see as Deby’s attempt to win over opposition members. The tension returned when the two faced each other in the election. Masra resigned as prime minister and returned to leading the opposition.

Which parties participate in this election?

Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS): Led by agricultural expert and former Prime Minister Haroun Kabadi, who currently heads the Transitional Council, the MPS is the ruling party. It was founded by former President Deby Itno and the current President Deny is the “honorary president”. Members of Parliament have been in charge of parliament since 1996. Prior to the establishment of the Transitional Council in 2021, the party was in a coalition government with allies Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and National Rally for Democracy and Progress (RNDP) and controlled the 134th parliament. seats.

National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR): Led by politician Saleh Kebzabo, it was one of the opposition coalitions that opposed the law of former President Deby Itno. The current president appointed Kebzabo as prime minister from 2022-2024. The party controlled 10 seats until 2021.

National Rally of Chadian Democrats (RNDT): Once in a ruling coalition with the MPS, the RNDT is seen more as an “opposition” party. It is led by former Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke (2021-2022). Padacke ran in the May presidential election and won 16.9% of the vote. RNDT controls eight seats in parliament until 2021.

Why are some opposition parties boycotting the parliamentary elections?

Other opposition groups including Masra’s Transformers, Group of the Cooperation of Political Actors (GCAP) and more than 10 others did not participate in the vote as they were protesting, they were distributing leaflets to people urging them not to vote.

The parties accuse Deby’s government of repression and democracy and say opposition members have already been “defeated early”.

Masra, who came second in the presidential vote, told AFP news agency that “participating in the legislative elections under the current conditions is participating in official apartheid elections.”

Some groups, such as Chad’s Party of Democrats, say they are preventing MPs from campaigning by setting up roadblocks in fortified areas.

Authorities have denied the claims. Infrastructure Minister Aziz Mahamat Saleh told reporters that the election would enable the ruling MPs and President Deby to obtain the necessary majority “to turn his political plan into reality”.

Why are Chadian journalists protesting?

Meanwhile, online journalists this week criticized the December 4 ban that prevents online newspapers from broadcasting audio-visual content related to the election, and in general. The authorities have also stopped interactive broadcasts involving wiretapping.

The High Media and Audiovisual Authority (HAMA), which issued these restrictions, suspects that online publications are reposting videos without the consent of content producers, in violation of content laws. In the past, HAMA accused internet journalists of publishing “unverifiable” information about President Deby.

The Supreme Court’s December 20 ruling ordered that the ban on the content be lifted immediately. However, HAMA has not implemented this decision. Speaking on state television on Tuesday, HAMA President Abderrahmane Barka said the order was in line with Chad’s law on sharing content but did not say whether the organization would honor the decision.

About 40 media outlets are on strike. On Tuesday, many journalists took to the streets in N’djamena to complain about this decision, accusing HAMA and the MPS government of trying to silence the media before the election. The restrictions, they said, also prevent them from publishing locally created audio content.

Rights groups have condemned the ban. “As a regulatory body, HAMA’s purpose is to regulate the media environment, not to restrict it through prohibition,” said Sadibou Marong, director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The difference is small, but it is important to ensure the freedom of the media in Chad. If the distribution of content without the consent of their producer will be banned, RSF asks HAMA to amend its decision not to ban online media from broadcasting and producing their own audio and visual content.”

What’s next?

Analysts say the MPS looks set to win parliament, cementing the party’s decades-long rule, as well as strengthening the power of the Deby family.

At rallies in N’Djamena over the weekend, MP politicians distributed caps, key chains, and other memorabilia painted in the party’s blue and yellow colors to thousands of supporters.

Rights groups are calling on the authorities to ensure an inclusive vote, however. “The Chadian authorities have a duty not only to ensure that the elections are free and fair but also to ensure that they are inclusive,” said Amnesty International’s Sanusi.

Meanwhile, the defectors of the opposition parties have pledged to independently monitor the voting and report evidence of violations of the decision of the African Court based in Tanzania, which has jurisdiction over the member countries of the African Union, so that the court can cancel the vote.