Chad’s main opposition parties have opposed the army’s appointment of President Idriss Déby’s son General Mahamat Deby Itno as the interim president and the head of the armed forces following the death of his father, reported Africa News. The opposition described Mahamat’s appointment as an “institutional coup”.
The 68-year-old President Déby died on Monday after being shot as he battled rebels on the frontline. He had been in power for three decades. The news of his shocking death was announced on state TV on Tuesday, a day after provisional election results projected he would win a sixth term in office at the helm of the oil-rich country.
After Deby’s sudden demise, the government and parliament have been dissolved, and as per Chad’s constitution, the speaker of parliament should take over when a sitting president dies before organizing elections. But, the army appointed the president’s son as the interim president.
“We the opposition political parties call on the Chadian population not to obey the illegal, illegitimate and irregular decisions taken by the Transitional Military Council (TMC), including the transitional charter, curfew, and border closures, etc., and to remain vigilant against any form of seizure of power or its confiscation by force,” said Mahamat Bichara, a spokesman for the main opposition parties.
The parties have also addressed the calls from France for a democratic transition as the former colonizer seeks to maintain the relationship it had with Chad under President Deby’s government.
Bichara warned French authorities including French President Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and French army generals to not interfere in Chad’s internal affairs.
The rebel leaders have also objected to the move, saying, “Chad is not a monarchy.”
Political experts fear that the president’s death could trigger political instability in the country with a long history of rebellions and coup attempts and where the opposition is weak and divided.
