Nine killed by gunshot during celebrations of Déby’s inauguration as Prime Minister of Chad

May 13. (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least nine people have died in Chad due to the impact of bullets from the celebration shots for the inauguration of the country’s new prime minister, Mahamat Idriss Déby, until now acting president after a coup d’état, according to Human’s assessment. Rights Watch (HRW).

Déby has been declared the winner of the elections on May 6 by the National Election Management Agency despite the fact that the outgoing prime minister, Succès Masra, has also proclaimed his victory and has appealed the official results in court.

In the days leading up to the vote, there have been violent incidents, such as the murder on February 28 by security forces of the president of the Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), Yaya Dillo, during an attack on the party headquarters in N’Djamena, the capital. HRW has called for an independent investigation.

Dillo was Déby’s main political rival despite being cousins ​​within the Zaghawa ethnic group and despite the fact that Dillo had not formally announced his candidacy. “Independently investigating Dillo’s death must be a priority for the Déby Government,” HRW stressed.

On voting day itself in the city of Moundou, in the south of the country, a man was killed while trying to vote and after the results were announced, celebratory shooting by civilians and members of the security forces killed nine people. only in N’Djamena, according to the Chadian press.

“President Déby has consolidated his power now that the transition period has ended,” said HRW director for Central Africa, Lewis Mudge. “The result has already been appealed and an investigation into the violence that occurred before and after the vote is necessary,” he added.

Déby won with 61.03 percent of the vote, compared to Masra’s 18.53 percent, according to official results that are still provisional. In the elections, some organizations such as the International Organization of La Francophonie have attempted to carry out the task of observation, but without the capacity to systematically monitor the vote throughout the country, HRW points out.

Furthermore, the interim Government refused to accredit civil society organizations and the European Union mission. Masra has even reported threats against him and against his supporters.

From the Wakit Tamma platform, key in the pro-democratic protests, they have called for abstention and have described these elections as a “farce” to impose a “dynastic dictatorship”, in reference to former president Idriss Déby, who died in April 2021 in full combat with a Armed group.

The Army handed power to his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, against current regulations. The new government persecuted dissent and protests in favor of the end of the military government that culminated on October 20, 2022, when thousands of people took to the streets against the extension of the interim government. The Constitution was replaced in a referendum in December 2023 by a new text that allowed Mahamat Idriss Déby to stand in the presidential elections.

In the months before the vote, the political space “narrowed” for Masra and his party, Los Transformadores. Despite the fact that an arrest warrant had been issued against him, Masra was named prime minister in January after a political agreement.