Chad: experts slam new junta-backed constitution as part of Deby’s ‘long-term power play’

86% of Chadians have voted in favor of a controversial new draft constitution, the government commission that organized it has announced, despite resistance from critics who say the referendum was merely designed to help cement the power of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby.
Chad’s military authorities have described the vote as a vital stepping-stone to long-promised democratic elections to be held next year that will pave the way for a return to civilian rule three years after they seized power in 2021 when former President Idriss Deby was killed by insurgents. Chad’s Supreme Court will on Thursday (28 December) declare definitive results of the country’s constitutional referendum. The new constitution will maintain a unitary state, despite the call by some of its opponents for the creation of a federal state, saying it would help spur development. Experts say the referendum committee comprised mostly Deby allies and offered the opposition no real chance of success or a compromise.
Several opposition groups called for a boycott of the vote, saying the junta had too much control over the referendum process. Many opposition leaders and civil society groups have described the referendum as a sham to enable the military government to perpetuate itself in power and pave the way for an eventual election of Deby, a 39-year-old military general. While originally promising an 18-month transition to elections after his father’s death, Debi’s government last year adopted resolutions that delayed elections until 2024 and allow him to run for president in the eventual vote. “Deby’s ‘long-term play’ … is to entrench himself at the top of an autocratic political system dominated by the military,” says Chris Ogunmodede, a foreign affairs analyst.