Chad’s President Deby runs for 5th term facing rare public dissent

By Jean-Pierre Campagne

April 8 N’Djamena (AFP) – In the dry searing heat of Chad’s capital N’Djamena, a single face stares out from election campaign billboards, President Idriss Deby’s, though 14 candidates are running in Sunday’s presidential poll. After 26 years at the helm of the vast largely barren nation that is Africa’s fifth biggest, Deby has consolidated his grip on power and now seems poised to comfortably win a fifth term in office on April 10. Under Deby’s command, the once unstable destitute country has become both an oil producer and key player in the global fight against jihadist terror. Yet despite Chad’s newfound strategic influence, Deby Chad is also facing an unprecedented security threat. It was rocked by two jihadist attacks in the capital last year, while facing a constant threat of suicide attacks and raids. Deby has tightened security to address the threats while maintaining a strong presence in a regional force fighting the Nigeria-based Boko Haram group. “In the face of these accumulating challenges, Chadian authorities must avoid the politics of religious or geographic exclusion,” the International crisis Group said in March. “The greatest threat to stability in Chad in the long-term … (is) a national political crisis.”

Posted by admin on Apr 12 2016. Filed under African News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry