Chad: Sixth Term For President Idriss Deby Likely

People in Chad have been voting in a presidential election that is expected to give one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders a sixth term.

President Idriss Déby, who seized power in a military coup in 1990, has been accused of stifling dissent in the lead-up to the vote. Most prominent opposition leaders withdrew from the race, alleging attacks by the security forces. They urged supporters to boycott the election and to protest. Soldiers were out on the streets in force across the capital N’Djamena on Sunday morning and the previous day municipal workers collected car tyres that protesters could set on fire. Reports say Elite troops from the Republican Guard were deployed to the central polling station where President Deby himself voted. President Déby was first to cast his ballot at that central polling station.