Chadian presidential election, 2006
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The 2006 Chad presidential election took place on May 3. The deadline to register as a candidate in the election was March 24, 2006. Due to an amendment to the Constitution of Chad passed in 2005, current president Idriss Déby was able to run for a third term; having come to power in December 1990, he previously won elections in 1996 and 2001. The country presently faces a growing conflict with Sudan, high unemployment, and a growing insurgency fueled by deserting members of the Chadian military and the United Front for Democratic Change rebel group. Chadian journalist Koumbo Singa Gali Sy said the election "will be a non-event. It's Deby against Deby."["CHAD: Opposition denounce poll as 'masquerade', refuse to field candidate"], IRIN, 27 March 2006.
Déby won the election, according to official results. Initially it was announced by the national election commission that he had won 77.6% of the vote, but this was subsequently revised downward to 64.67% when the final results were announced in late May by the constitutional council.["CHAD: Deby win confirmed, but revised down to 64.67 pct"], IRIN, May 29, 2006. Voter turnout rates have been contested, with the opposition claiming only a small percentage of the population voted, while the government claims that a majority voted.
Boycott
The election was the first in the history of Chad in which no major opposition candidate participated, because most political parties in Chad boycotted the elections in response to incumbent President Déby's decision to run for a third term. The only candidates were President Déby, Agriculture Minister Albert Pahimi Padacké for the National Rally of Chadian Democrats, former Prime Minister Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye for the National Rally for Development and Progress, Mahamat Abdoulaye for the People's Movement for Democracy in Chad, and Brahim Koulamallah for the Renewed African Socialist Movement party; the latter three are representatives of political parties allied with Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement party.On March 25 opposition leader Lol Mahamat Choua said in a speech to about one thousand supporters at a rally in N'Djamena, "We staunchly reaffirm that we are not taking part and will not endorse this masquerade. The elections announced for 3 May will not take place. They must not take place. You must contribute actively toward this end." In a meeting in mid March between Chadian opposition leaders, Chadian Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji, and United Nations representatives, Ngarlejy Yorongar, who ran against Déby in 1996 and 2001, but is boycotting this election, presented an 18-point proposal that called for a six-month extension of Déby's presidency to reform the electoral process. "Déby has refused our proposal; that's why I am not participating in the upcoming election."
A local journalist said that for Déby "the game is up; he's going to fall. The main and most troublesome question is who is capable of taking his place?"
On May 3, 2006, although rebel groups did not disrupt voting as they had threatened to, voter turnout was "extremely low". ["Voting ends in Chad's elections"], BBC.co.uk, 3 May 2006.
Provisional results
Although by May 5, the election and Déby's victory was given the support of the African Union, some Western diplomats expressed astonishment regarding the AU approval.["African praise for Chad election causes astonishment"], Reuters, 5 May 2006 Opposition groups called on the world to ignore the vote, and accused France, who maintains a military contingent in the country, for having backed Déby for its own interests.["Chad opposition calls on world to reject Deby poll"], Reuters, 6 May 2006. Dispute over voter turnout remains acute, with the Opposition maintaining a turnout of a mere 2 percent, while the chairman of the Chadian electoral commission estimated turnout at around 60 percent.["CHAD: Opposition denounce presidential poll"], IRIN, 8 May 2006. The constitutional council later reduced it to 53%.
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'''Summary of the 3 May 2006 Chadian presidential election results |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Candidates !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Nominating parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% |- |align=left|Idriss Déby |align=left|Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) | 1,863,042 | 64.67 |- |align=left|Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye |align=left|National Rally for Development and Progress (Viva-RNDP) | 436,002 | 15.13 |- |align=left|Albert Pahimi Padacké |align=left|National Rally for Democracy in Chad (RNDT-Le Réveil) | 225,368 | 7.82 |- |align=left|Mahamat Abdoulaye |align=left|People's Movement for Democracy in Chad (MPDT) | 203,637 | 7.07 |- |align=left|Brahim Koulamallah |align=left|Renewed African Socialist Movement (MSA/R) | 152,940 | 5.31 |- |align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="2"|Total (turnout 53.1%) |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|100.00 |- |align="left" colspan=4|Source: [African Elections Database]; Boycotted by major opposition parties. |}References
See also
- Elections in Chad
- 2005 Chad constitutional referendum
- Government of Chad
- 2006 Chadian coup d'état attempt
- Chadian-Sudanese conflict
External links
- [L'actualité du Tchad] (in French)
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