Chad
Chad elections expected to consolidate President Deby

afrol News, 22 April - As Chadians went to the poll stations to elect the 155 MPs of their National Assembly on Sunday, observers believe the outcome only will consolidate the increasing powers of President Idriss Deby. Among the 40 parties presenting candidates, only Deby's allies stand big chances.

President Deby's ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party has controlled 80 of Parliament's 155 seats in this legislative session. This dominance is not expected to have changed after Sunday's poll. According to the BBC, the MPS is "assured of winning 45 unopposed seats in the sparsely populated north, and his allies are sole candidates in another 20 of the 155 posts." The opposition's lack of unity and failure to present joint candidates also contributes to its expected poor results.

Some 4.2 million Chadians had the right to vote in Sunday's elections, but reports from the country indicate that the turnout had been very low. From the capital, N'djamena, the French news agency AFP reported of a voters' turnout "lower than 50 percent," while it estimated the turnout for the whole of Chad at around 30 percent.

The main campaign themes have been crime, unemployment, the country's poor infrastructure and women's participations in politics. The latter issue surely will not find a solution true this election, as only 34 of the more than 450 candidates were women.

The elections in general went orderly and no grave disruptions have been reported. The ongoing counting process was however criticised for lack of transparency by the political opposition before the poll. The opposition had threatened to boycott the elections, fearing they would become a repetition of last year's presidential elections, marred by irregularities. The Independent National Election Commission is expected to present the results on 1 May.

The expected consolidation of President Deby's powers worries the many foreign investors in the country. Contrary to the many agreements of democratisation, transparency and increased emphasis on poverty elimination, President Deby is seen as increasing his personal control over the country's key oil resources. 

The World Bank and US companies have made their largest sub-Saharan investment ever in the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, which is to market the vast Chadian oil resources through the Cameroonian harbour of Kribi. When the pipeline opens next year, it will boost government incomes by 50 percent. President Deby's disrespect of financing agreements has raised fears that these incomes not will reach the Chadian population in the way they were expected to. 

The US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa last week again expressed its concern about developments in Chad. "There is the issue of whether the government of Chad has the institutional capabilities, even if it has the political will, to use oil revenue in the agreed-to manner," it stated. "It will be the role of the World Bank and the US to help Chad's government honour its commitment, even if it should resist," the Subcommittee added.

Sources: Based on press reports and afrol archives

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