Chad votes in triple elections after three years of military rule
Voters in Chad went to the polls on Sunday for legislative, provincial and local elections after three years of military rule. Early figures suggested low turnout after opposition candidates, who claim that last year's presidential election was fraudulent, urged a boycott.
Chad voted Sunday in a general election the government says is a key step towards ending military rule, with turnout expected to be low after the opposition called for a boycott.
Midday figures suggested a turnout of just 38 percent to choose a new parliament, provincial assemblies and local councils, according to the elections management agency ANGE.
Election officials in the upmarket district where the president's family and ruling dignitaries live put voter apathy down to the "cold weather".
But opposition parties have urged Chad's eight million voters to shun the election, the results of which they say had been decided in advance.
They "have all stayed at home following our call, that is, the overwhelming majority," Succes Masra, leader of the opposition Transformers party, told AFP.
The boycott leaves the field open for candidates aligned with President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who was brought to power by the military in 2021 and then legitimised in a presidential election in May that opposition candidates denounced as fraudulent.
"I urge all my compatriots on the electoral roll to come out and vote en masse," Deby posted on Facebook, alongside photos of himself casting his ballot on what he called a "historic day".
'Nothing's been done yet'
(AFP)
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