Ten candidates, including two staunch critics of Chad’s military government, voiced their protest on Wednesday after being disqualified from participating in the upcoming presidential election on May 6.
The constitutional court in N’Djamena cited “irregularities” in their applications as grounds for rejection, a decision that was met with outcry from the excluded candidates.
During a press conference, they pledged to resist and obstruct what they perceived as the ruling Deby dynasty’s path toward dictatorship.
Denouncing the court’s rationale as flawed, a representative of the disqualified candidates read a joint statement calling for national mobilisation and urging all legal avenues to be pursued in order to prevent the country from sliding into dictatorship.
This appeal for action comes in the wake of the fatal shooting of Yaya Dillo, the main challenger to Chadian leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who was killed during a military raid on his PSF party headquarters a month earlier.
Among those barred from candidacy were Nassour Ibrahim Koursami, who succeeded Dillo, and prominent opposition figure Rakhis Ahmat Saleh.
“Yesterday, Yaya Dillo was executed without warning and today (the authorities) are doing everything to disqualify inconvenient candidates and to pave the way for the dynasty,” the protesting candidates said.
General Deby was among 10 candidates the council allowed to stand.
He was proclaimed president by a junta of generals in 2021 following the death of his father, who had ruled the Sahel country with an iron fist for more than three decades.
Political analysts, diplomats and opposition figures agree that the other approved candidates have been nominated to give a pluralist veneer to the ballot or had no political support and little chance of winning.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an independent investigation into the murder of Yaya Dillo, arguing that the army assault “raises serious concerns about the environment for elections scheduled for May.”
General Deby was among the ten candidates approved by the council to participate in the upcoming election.
He ascended to the presidency in 2021 after a junta of generals declared him president following the death of his father, who had ruled the Sahel nation with an iron grip for over three decades.
According to political analysts, diplomats, and opposition members, the inclusion of the other candidates approved by the council serves either to create a semblance of pluralism in the election or because these candidates lack significant political backing and have minimal chances of victory.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged for an independent investigation into the killing of Yaya Dillo, contending that the military’s attack “raises grave concerns about the electoral environment leading up to the scheduled May elections.”
