Chad PM Padacke resigns to pave way for new “government of national union”

Chad’s Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke resigned on Tuesday (11 October) in order to pave the way for a new government after the Central African country announced the postponement of elections by two years to 2024.
His resignation was announced by the presidency on Tuesday. Padacke, a civilian politician, was named prime minister of a transitional military government last year after President Mahamat Idriss Déby seized power in the wake of his father’s death. The military council led by Déby was originally meant to rule for 18 months, but this month the country announced it would push back democratic elections until around October 2024. The 38-year-old five-star general, who was sworn in on Monday (10 October) as president, announced the creation of a “government of national union” to chart the path to new elections.
Padacke also served as prime minister from 2016 to 2018 and was seen as an ally of the former president Idriss Déby, who ruled Chad for 30 years until his death in April 2021. The elder Déby’s death paved the way for talks between rebel groups, some headed by relatives of the former president, and the military council. Hundreds of rebel groups met in Doha for talks this year at the request of the Qatari government. The conference wound up at the weekend after being boycotted by the main political opposition and two out of the three biggest armed rebel groups who accused the Déby government of insincerity, but they still paved the way for negotiations to be held in Chad next year.