By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Chadian interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby will have to stay in power and be eligible to run for president in the eventual vote expected to take place in 2024 following a resolution to shift democratic elections by two years, extending his stay in office.
The transition government due to end this October under the new plan, will stay put till around October 2024 when election to usher in a civil rule will take place.
This comes amidst repeated warnings from the African Union, the United States and other foreign powers that the junta must not monopolise power by extending the transition or fielding presidential candidates.
The junta originally promised an 18-month transition to elections when Deby seized power in April 2021 after his father, President Idriss Deby, was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with insurgents.
It also allows Deby to remain in power until the vote, although his Transitional Military Council will dissolve and be replaced with a transitional government, appointed by Deby.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have also seen coups since 2020, raising fears of a backslide towards military rule in a region that had made democratic progress over the past decade.
Opposition leader Brice Mbaimong Guedmabaye said the resolutions were forced through during ongoing national talks that the junta had promised would be an inclusive forum to negotiate the path back to democracy.
“There are lobbies that are doing everything to keep the junta in power against the will of the people,” said Guedmabaye, who is president of the Movement of Chadian Patriots for the Republic party.
