In Chad, President Idriss Déby Itno announced the death of a Transitional Military Council (CMT) on April 20, while announcing the repeal of the constitution and the dissolution of the government and parliament.
The Transitional Council, which took power in Chad after the death of Idriss Déby Itno, is led by one of the sons of the late president, Lieutenant General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. At the age of 37, he became head of state and chief of staff of the armed forces. Until now, he was the head of the famous DGSSEI, a kind of presidential guard, the army’s elite body. At his side, fourteen military leaders, some of whom are among the most influential in recent years.
These are mainly generals from the north and the clan fromIdriss Deby Itno and who has always been the basis of his power: Chief of Staff and General of the Armed Forces Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Director General of Military Intelligence Tahir Erda Taïro, not to mention the Ministers of Public Security, Territorial Administration or even the armies, all highly ranked officers in Chad.
Request for return to constitutional order
Officially, therefore, the army took matters into its own hands without any problems, but sources in Ndjamena speak of tensions within the inner circle of power, especially over the division of power within the new council.
Another problem: this transitional military council has given itself full power, which is nowhere provided for in the revised constitution of December 2020, condemning civil society, the opposition and parties from the president’s majority.
Demba Karion, from the civic movement Turn-page-Chad, assures us that he denies a desire to legitimize an army coup. “We fought, we went, we fought and put this movement in place, we worked for several years, it is not to leave a dictatorship and go into a coup. We demand a transitional government run by civilians. ”
MPS’s general secretary, the party in power, justifies the establishment of this military council by striving to defend the country’s integrity. “I remind you that Idriss Déby Itno died to defend the country. therefore, the act he has taken is first and foremost military action. The first to recover marshals on the ground were soldiers. They were the first to witness his death and therefore when they organized, it was mainly for the defense of the national territory, Mahamat Zene Bada explains.
Meanwhile, the new Chadian government has already announced a series of very strict measures: the dissolution of the government and the National Assembly, a curfew from 18 to 05, a closure of borders. Above all, he cancels the constitution and announces that he will take an 18-month transition, while promising free and democratic elections. Measures that are far from unanimous in Chad.
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This morning, the movement’s movement facts also condemn the creation of the military council and call for an inclusive dialogue.
We do not recognize any legitimacy in the Military and Family Council. Idriss Déby is deceased, his son replaces him. It is not a dynasty, Chad is a secular republic. The institutional order must be restored.
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