Chad votes in referendum to end military rule: summary

To Match Special Report SUDAN-POLITICS/SEXUAL-VIOLENCE

A rainbow is seen over makeshift shelters of Sudanese refugees, who fled the conflict in El Geneina, West Darfur, during sunset in Adre, Chad, July 27, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo To Match Special Report SUDAN-POLITICS/SEXUAL-VIOLENCE

Source: X90036

What we know?

Chad votes on December 17 in a constitutional referendum ahead of a proposed transition to civilian rule
The Central African nation was under the rule of former president Idriss Déby for over 30 years after he toppled former dictator Hissene Habré in 1990
President Déby died in 2021 in a military operation against a rebel group
General Mahamat Idriss Deby took over as the transitional president in 2021 after the death of his father Idriss Déby
The transitional rule was extended by two years after elections were postponed in October 2022
Opposers of the referendum have called for a boycott of the referendum, arguing that a yes vote in the referendum would hand power back to the military junta

What they said?

Max Loalngar, coordinator of one of the main opposition Wakit Tamma is quoted by AFP saying, "We call on the people to stay at home on Sunday… It aims to legitimise purely and simply the dynasty that they would like to impose on us." Badono Daigou, a member of the other opposition group GCAP in a meeting in the nation’s capital N'Djamena while referencing the heavily financed campaign by the military junta also said "The result of the referendum is already known. The 'yes' will pass."

Edward Sakyi