Chad: Polling Stations Opened Normally

On Monday, Chad's polling stations opened for a day when more than eight million citizens may go to the polls.

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The country must now elect its new president and end a three-year transition.

The contenders finalised their campaign messages on Saturday ahead of the country's first presidential vote since the death of ruler Idriss Deby in 2021.

Provisional results are due by 21 May, and before 5 June. A run-off is scheduled for 22 June if no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote.

Among the presidential hopefuls likely to receive the most support at the polls are the current leader of the ruling military junta, Mahamat Idriss Déby, and the incumbent prime minister, Succes Masra.

Déby Itno has the backing of the coalition For a United Chad, which includes more than 200 political parties and movements, while Masra is contesting the democratic exercise with the support of a broad spectrum of the opposition, according to television media reports.

During his election rallies, the current interim leader of the Sahel state promised his supporters to ensure the optimisation of defence and security, national reconciliation and to organise a referendum on a new constitution.

In April 2021, Déby Itno came to power after the death of his father Idriss Déby amid fighting between the national army on one side and the militias of the Front for Alternation and Concord on the other.

For his part, opposition leader Masra, a former executive of the African Development Bank, pledged to create more jobs, with priority for young people, and to prioritise access to electricity, water and security for all.