But the provisional vote tally, released earlier than expected, was marred by violence and allegations of election fraud.
Military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby won Chad’s presidential election, according to provisional results released by the National Electoral Authority.
Figures released on Thursday showed Deby won more than 61% of the vote, obviating the need for a runoff with her closest rival, Prime Minister Sukheth Masra, who won 18.5%.
With this victory, incumbent Debbie was able to retain the presidency with a mandate from voters.
He previously led the country as interim president after his father, the late President Idriss Deby, was killed fighting rebels in the northern region in April 2021.
But his presidential rival, Masra, has already signaled he will not accept the election results.
On Thursday morning, Masra went live on Facebook declaring himself the winner. He also accused Deby and other government officials of manipulating election results to stay in power.
“A small number of individuals believe that they can lead people to believe that the elections were won by the same regime that has ruled Chad for decades,” Masra said.
Debbie’s father led the country for over 30 years from 1990 to 2021, but was shot to death shortly after winning the sixth presidential election.
Critics have accused him and his son, now President Debi, of suppressing the opposition to stay in power.
They also pointed to circumstances that could have influenced the outcome of the May 6 presidential election.
For example, one of the main opposition figures, Devi’s cousin Yaya Dillo, was killed when security forces engaged in a shootout at his party headquarters.
Other opposition party members were banned from pointing out ‘illegalities’ in their election campaign applications.
On Thursday, Masra called on his supporters and security forces to support his claim to the presidency and reject the election body’s results.
“To all Chadians who voted for change and voted for me, I say to mobilize. “Remain calm in the spirit of peace,” he said in a Facebook broadcast.
Thursday’s results came in earlier than expected, as provisional results were originally thought to arrive on May 21.
Chad is considered the first military-led country in Africa’s Sahel region to hold democratic elections, but questions have continued to be raised about the fairness and reliability of the vote.
Neighboring countries such as Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso also experienced coups, putting military leaders in charge of the government. Since 2020 alone, there have been eight coups in the region.
This month’s presidential race marked the first time in the country’s history that a sitting lawmaker faced the prime minister at the polls.
Deby pledged to hold “free and democratic elections” within 18 months when he took office in 2021, but his government extended the transition period until 2024, allowing Deby to remain in office in the meantime.
During that time, he led a referendum on a new constitution that would allow him to run for elections in 2024.
Deby, a lifelong soldier, led the powerful DGSSIE, an acronym for General Direction of State Agencies Security Services. In that role, he worked closely with the French military.
Chad, with a population of about 18 million people, was under French colonial rule until 1960 and remains the last country in the Sahel to have a French military presence with fighter jets and troops.
Following Thursday’s announcement, security forces were deployed at intersections across the capital N’Djamena in anticipation of unrest.
