Chad’s Closed Election Pits Leader Against Own Prime Minister

(Bloomberg) -- Chad’s interim president Mahamat Deby, who seized power after his father’s death, is running for the top job against his prime minister, raising concerns that he has no real opposition.

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Deby, a military general, has led the central African nation since authorities announced that Idriss Deby had been killed on a battlefield in 2021. His main opponent in May 6 elections is Succes Masra, who currently leads his cabinet.

This comes after Chad’s most prominent opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, was fatally shot by security forces on Feb. 28 in the capital, N’Djamena.

Read more: Chad Opposition Leader Dies in Attack Ahead of May Elections

The country’s public prosecutor accused Dillo of leading an attack on the National Security Agency. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Dillo denied any involvement in the assault before succumbing to his injuries.

Chad is open to an international investigation into the matter, Deby told the French broadcaster RFI in an interview aired late Monday. He also sought to dispel the widespread belief that he’d cut a deal with Masra, a former opposition leader who returned from exile to lead his cabinet.

“He is a candidate, I am a candidate,” Deby told RFI. “There’s no deal between us.”

Deby, 40, vowed Monday to seek no more than two six-year mandates, in line with the constitution. That means that he wouldn’t be in power beyond 2036, if he won next month’s vote and was subsequently reelected.

His father ruled Chad, one of the world’s poorest nations, for 30 years.

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