Chad’s military leader and interim president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Wednesday appointed veteran Chadian politician and former opposition figure Saleh Kebzabo as the new prime minister, reported The Reuters.
Kebzabo replaces Albert Pahimi Padacke who resigned on Tuesday to pave way for the formation of a new government. Padacke was appointed transitional prime minister last year after military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power following the death of his father Idriss Deby Itno, who died in April last year on the frontline fighting against rebels.
The 75-year-old Kebzabo is the leader of Chad’s main opposition party, the National Union for Democracy and Renewal. He contested in two previous presidential elections in 2011 and 2016. He came second in last presidential elections in 2016 and third in a previous 2011 vote.
In his acceptance speech broadcast by state television, Kebzabo said that great work awaits the government. He said the priority of his new government will be to achieve free and democratic elections.
Chad is currently governed by a military council, headed by Deby, which was originally meant to rule for 18 months. The military is in process of forming a new government that will lead the Central African country until democratic elections in 2024.
Deby was inaugurated as Chad’s interim president on Monday, after being named by the National Sovereign Inclusive Dialogue forum. Among a raft of resolutions adopted under a revised transition charter, the forum also ratified Deby’s right to seek for the presidency after the transition.
At the inauguration, Deby promised to name a new government of national unity.
Previously, he had pledged to hand over power to an elected government after 18 months. The transition period would have ended this month without any extension. But this month, the national forum announced that the democratic elections have been pushed back until around October 2024.
