In a significant political development, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, son of the late Chadian leader, has been inaugurated as the president of Chad for a term of five years.
The ceremony took place yesterday, following the Constitutional Council’s validation of his electoral win with 61% of the votes cast in the May 6 presidential election.
Assuming leadership after his father’s demise in 2021, Mahamat Déby, alongside a cadre of generals, had previously suspended the constitution.
His father, Idriss Déby Itno, had been at the helm for over three decades.
The African continent has witnessed a spate of military takeovers since 2020, predominantly in the Francophone nations of West and Central Africa.
Chad marks the first nation within the so-called Sahel’s ‘Coup Belt’ to conduct elections post these events.
Mahamat Déby becomes the sixth president of Chad, a nation with an approximate population of 19 million, which has yet to see a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence from France in 1960.
Despite allegations of widespread electoral fraud by the opposition and civil society representatives, the Constitutional Council dismissed all challenges to the election outcome.
In a recent turn of events, Succès Masra, the election’s runner-up, stepped down from his role as prime minister in the interim government, a position he had occupied since the year’s start.
Further stirring the political landscape, Déby appointed Allah-Maye Halina, a diplomat and former head of protocol under his father, as the new prime minister.
Halina, who also served as the ambassador to China, lacks prior governmental experience, making his appointment an unexpected move.
Standing apart from other military leaders in the region, Déby is recognized as a key ally of France.
Following the regional coups, France has strategically repositioned its troops within Chad.
Strategically located at the nexus of crisis-ridden states such as Sudan, Libya, Niger, and the Central African Republic, Chad hosts over a million refugees, highlighting its geopolitical significance.
