Chad’s National Assembly has approved sweeping constitutional amendments that extend presidential terms from five to seven years and lift limits on the number of times a president can serve, a move critics say entrenches the rule of President Mahamat Idriss Déby.
The changes were endorsed on Monday by 171 votes in favour, with one abstention and no opposition, according to Assembly President Ali Kolotou Tchaimi. The revisions now head to the Senate, which is scheduled to vote on October 13 before the constitution is signed into law by President Déby.
Mahamat Idriss Déby came to power in 2021 after his father, long-serving President Idriss Déby, was killed while visiting troops fighting militias in northern Chad.
Following three years of military rule, he claimed victory in a disputed presidential election in May 2024, later consolidating power after parliamentary elections in December handed the ruling party a dominant majority.
Analysts argue the constitutional overhaul further solidifies Déby’s grip on power. “There are fewer and fewer dissenting voices,” said Remadji Hoinathy, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. “This clearly opens the possibility for the president and ruling party to establish a long-term stronghold on power.”
Chad was the first junta-led state in West and Central Africa to stage elections after a wave of recent coups across the region. The outcome was hotly contested, with opposition leader and then–prime minister Succes Masra also claiming victory.
Masra, who emerged as Déby’s strongest challenger, resigned after the polls and was later sentenced in August to 20 years in prison for inciting violence.
If approved by the Senate next month, the new constitution will mark another significant step in consolidating power around the Déby family dynasty, raising concerns among rights groups and regional observers about Chad’s democratic trajectory.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
