Chad’s PM, Masra resigns after interim president Deby wins disputed elections

Opposition leader and prime minister of Chad, Succes Masra has resigned in the wake of Mahamat Idriss Deby’s official declaration as the winner of the May 6 presidential election.

He made the announcement on X (Twitter) on Wednesday saying “In accordance with the constitution, I have today presented… my resignation and that of the transitional government, which has become irrelevant with the end of the presidential election of May 6, 2024, with known results.”

In an attempt to build goodwill with the opposition, Masra, a vocal opponent of the junta, was named prime minister of the transitional government in January 2024, four months before the election.

The oil-exporting country of nearly 18 million people hasn’t had a democratic transfer of power since it became independent in 1960, after decades of French colonial rule.

Masra declared victory prior to the formal presentation of preliminary results, claiming that electoral fraud was planned.

However, Chad’s election board pronounced Deby Itno the winner with 61% of the vote, while Prime Minister Succès Masra, the major opposition candidate and head of the transitional government, received only 18.5%.

Masra acknowledged the council’s decision and stated that there were no other legal options to fight the outcome.

Deby Itno, also known as Mahamat Idriss Deby, assumed control when his father, who had been in power for three decades, was killed fighting rebels in 2021. The long-awaited election occurred after three years of military rule. Analysts had overwhelmingly predicted him to win.