N’Djamena: General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who led Chad’s military junta for three years, was sworn in as president on Thursday after an election victory by the opposition.
On May 6, Debi officially received 61 percent of the vote, which international NGOs called neither self-confident nor liberal and a “sham” of her main rival.
In her oath, Debi said she swore “in front of the people of Chad…
Eight African heads of state, as well as members of the Constitutional Council and hundreds of guests watched the inauguration ceremony as president at the Palace of Arts and Culture in the capital, N’Djamena, where the 40-year-old wore a dress. a traditional white robe, watched.
The term of the President lasts for five years and can be renewed once.
In his speech, he previously announced “a return to the constitutional order” and promised to be “a Chadian president in a different way and in a different way”.
Debi was appointed transitional president by a junta of 15 generals in April 2021 after his father, President Idriss Debi Itno, was shot dead by rebels after 30 years in power.
The swearing-in marks the end of three years of military rule in a country key to fighting jihadism in Africa’s Sahel region.
In 2021, Debi quickly gained support from the international community, led by France, after his forces were overthrown by military regimes in the former colonies of Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria in recent years.
The investiture formalizes what the opposition has denounced as Debi’s grandson.
Allamaye Halina, a former ambassador to China, was appointed prime minister based on a presidential decision read out on public television on Thursday.
Succes Masra, one of Deby’s staunchest opponents before becoming prime minister, announced his resignation on Wednesday following his party’s election defeat after four months in office.
Masra, an economist who won 18.5 percent of the vote, contested the results and did not attend the swearing-in ceremony.
He claimed victory after the first round of voting, but was accused of being a junta stooge by Chad’s heavily repressed opposition, whose top members were barred from voting.
After the Constitutional Council rejected Masra’s bid to annul the result, he said “there is no other national law option” and called on supporters to “mobilize” but remain “peaceful”.
Debi’s cousin, Aya Dillo Djerou, who emerged as the general’s main opposition candidate, was shot dead, according to the party.
The participation of the head of state in the investment is an opportunity for the president to establish international support.
All eight participants are from African countries. Ministers or ambassadors representing other countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron sent the Minister of Foreign Trade and Francophonie Franck Riester to N’Djamena in 2021 to honor the son and heir of the late Marshal Déba.
Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, is France’s last military outpost in the Sahel region with 1,000 troops, and Macron was one of the few leaders to openly congratulate Débi on her election.
Several Sahel countries have tightened ties with Russia after breaking ties with Paris to avoid jihadist insurgency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first to congratulate Debi.
