Chad’s government on Thursday said it has scheduled a national dialogue starting August 20, paving way for elections promised by interim president Mahamat Idriss Deby when he seized power last year, reported Reuters.
After the death of Chad’s longtime ruler Idriss Deby, his son Deby declared himself as the head of a Transitional Military Council in April 2021. Idriss was killed on the battlefield last year while fighting with his soldiers against rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT).
The transition council had initially said it would oversee an 18-month transition to democratic rule, but there’s no sign of elections even as the deadline nears.
Deby has presented the national dialogue as the first step toward planning a vote. The national dialogue is expected to include armed groups but the conditions for their participation have not yet been agreed on.
Pressure has started to intensify from opposition groups and bilateral partners on the transitional government to advance the transition process. Chad is an ally of France and other Western countries in the fight against militants in Africa’s Sahel region.
Last week, Ellen Thorburn, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Chad, said it is the responsibility of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to fulfil its commitments to the citizens of Chad, which includes ensuring that members of the TMC do not stand for future elections and that the TMC adheres to a period of rapid transition, with democratic elections.
In related news, last month, Chad’s government declared a food emergency in the country and called for immediate help from the international community.
According to the United Nations (UN), over 5.5 million people in Chad – more than a third of the population – would need humanitarian assistance this year.
Notably, Chad is the third poorest nation in the world. In 2021, it ranked 113 out of 116 nations on the “Global Hunger Index”.
