Chad votes in general election after three years of army rule

Chad held general elections amidst claims of fraud.

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N'DJAMENA:

Chad voted in a general election on Sunday that the government had hailed as a key step towards ending military rule, but that was marked by low turnout and the opposition's call for a boycott amid allegations of fraud.

Voting in the landlocked country in Africa's northern half had taken place against a backdrop of recurring attacks by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, the ending of a military accord with former colonial master France, and accusations that Chad was interfering in the conflict ravaging neighbouring Sudan.

The government has presented the elections as the final stage in the transition to democracy.

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno took power in 2021 after the death of his father, who had ruled the Sahel country for three decades.

The opposition had called for a boycott of the election, saying the results had been decided in advance.

After polling stations closed, turnout stood at 52.37 percent, according to the ANGE national election management agency.

In the capital N'Djamena, the opposition cried foul, saying numerous irregularities occurred the day before in some precincts, when soldiers had cast their ballots in line with tradition that sees the military, police and nomads vote a day before the general population.

"The soldiers who came to vote yesterday (were) without a voter card or national identity card. The same person could vote twenty-five or fifty times," said Abdelaziz Koulamallah, a candidate for a local seat with the Federal Party for Justice and Development (PFJD), in a video posted on his Facebook account.

Election officials in the upmarket district where the president's family and ruling dignitaries live earlier put the low turnout to "cold weather".

But the opposition said the low numbers were due to its call for a boycott.

They "have all stayed at home following our call. That is, the overwhelming majority" have, Succes Masra, leader of the opposition Transformers party, told AFP. AFP