Chad opposition leader Succes Masra fights election outcome: summary

What we know

• Chadian opposition leader Succes Masra has appealed the preliminary result of the presidential election held on May 6th, by lodging a legal complaint with the country's constitutional council.
• On May 9, Chad's state election body declared Mahamat Idriss Deby as the winner of the presidential election with 61.3% of the vote. The runner-up, Masra, received only 18.53%.
• Masra, the prime minister of the transitional government, claimed victory in a live broadcast on Facebook before the official announcement. He called on security forces and his supporters to oppose what he called an attempt to steal the vote.
• The Chadian prime minister on May 12, posted a copy of a receipt on social media, showing that a legal appeal had been filed with the Central African nation’s constitutional council. He also urged his supporters to remain calm.
• According to an opposition official close to Masra, the appeal submitted evidence of vote tampering such as videos and polling station result sheets.
• Opposition members and civil society organisations had demanded a boycott before the election due to suspicions of vote rigging, fueling concerns of potential violence.
• Following the announcement of the results, celebratory gunfire killed at least 10 people, including children, and dozens were injured, Amnesty International researcher Abdoulaye Diarra told Reuters.
• Chad's health ministry confirmed that several people were hurt during the celebration of Deby's win, but asked journalists not to film or report on patients inside hospitals, a move condemned by Chad's press unions.
• Mahamat Deby seized power in April 2021 when rebels killed his long-ruling father, Idriss Deby. He installed Masra as the prime minister of Chad in 2024 after the 40-year-old signed a reconciliation agreement upon his return from exile.

What they said

Succes Masra in a post on social media announcing his appeal of the preliminary result said, “Helped by our lawyers, we today appealed to the Constitutional Council for the truth of the ballot boxes…, we ask you to continue to remain peaceful for the love of our country because the change you want to see cannot take place in a destroyed country. This change is irreversible, it is already here and it will be implemented in one way or another by all the people so that Justice and Equality reign.”