Chad interim leader Deby confirms plan to run for president in May
Al Jazeera
The announcement comes days after the military chief’s main rival was killed in murky circumstances.
Chad’s military leader has said that he will run in the country’s long-awaited presidential elections in May, just three days after his chief rival was killed in suspicious circumstances.
“I, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, am a candidate for the 2024 presidential election under the banner of the For a United Chad coalition,” Deby said in a speech on Saturday.
The vote will mark the end of three years of military rule in the politically charged Central African country.
Deby took power after his father and longtime ruler, Idriss Deby Itno, died fighting rebels in the country’s north in April 2021.
The younger Deby promised a return to civilian rule, as well as elections, but the leader extended the transition by two years, despite loud objections from opposition parties.
