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Chad's ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement, led by President Mahamat Idriss Deby, has secured a majority of seats in the parliamentary election that was held in December, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.
According to provisional results announced on Saturday by the head of the electoral commission, Ahmed Bartchiret, the party won 124 out of 188 seats in the National Assembly. According to Al Jazeera, the elections, which were largely boycotted by opposition parties, saw a voter turnout of 51.56 per cent with opposition groups criticising the turnout as evidence of doubts over the election's legitimacy. The election that took place on December 29 also included municipal and regional votes and was the first of its kind in Chad in over a decade. President Deby's government had framed the election as the final stage of the country's transition to democracy, following his rise to power in 2021 after the death of his father, long-time President Idriss Deby Itno, Al Jazeera reported. More than 10 opposition parties, including the main Transformers party, boycotted the vote, calling it a "charade" and expressing concerns it would mirror the disputed presidential election from the previous year. According to Al Jazeera, the election took place during a challenging period for Chad, which is facing security issues, including threats from the militant group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region and tensions over military cooperation with France. The country recently severed military ties with France, following a trend in several West and Central African nations, and has been building closer relations with Russia. This week, security forces also thwarted an attack on the presidency, which the government called an "attempt to destabilise." (ANI)
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