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This Thursday morning marks the start of the presidential election campaign on April 11 in Chad, a 30-day campaign. On paper, nine candidates are running, including current head of state Idriss Deby Itno, but three of them are “despite themselves”.
Soon 69 years old, including 30 in power, Idriss Deby Itno will run for a sixth period in a row in a month to the day. In front of him, nine competitors, if we stick to the list published by the Supreme Court. But three of them say they are candidates in spite of themselves.
They are Saleh Kebzabo, who came in second in the last presidential election, longtime opponent Ngarlejy Yorongar and Théophile Bongoro, a candidate for the Victory Alliance, which brings together 13 opposition parties.
All three withdrew from the election process after security forces attacked the home of opponent Yaya Dillo Djerou. But nothing to do, their photos are already on the poll. For Saleh Kebzabo, the government has decided to keep the “heavyweights” of these oppositions in the process of “giving credibility to an election without any share”.
There are still 6 candidates who want to go for coal: the official leader of the opposition Felix Nialbé Roumandoumngar, often accused of being close to the presidential movement, the leader of the Chadian Patriots Movement, Brice Mbaimong Guedmabaye and the former prime minister, Albert Pahimi Padacket , who had supported Idriss Deby 5 years ago. Two newcomers are in the race: Balthazar Aladoum Djarma or Théophile Yombombe Madjitoloum.
Finally, there is former Minister Lydie Beassemda, who has already written history for being the first woman to fight for the top office in Chad.
Personalities mainly from the south. For researcher Jérôme Tubiana, the absence of candidates from the north testifies to a desire to avoid breaking down the electorate, which is favorable to President Idriss Déby.
It is undoubtedly a calculation of power to have rather tried to meet opponents from the south and to have strongly discouraged opponents from the north. (…) The vote is quite strong geographically or even ethnically in Chad, and therefore President Déby generally had more votes in the north. If there were any candidates from the north, its base in the north would certainly be eroded.
Jérôme Tubiana, researcher specializing in Chad
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