Chad votes in favour of new constitution backed by military rulers
Al Jazeera
Referendum held earlier this month has been approved by 86 percent of voters, say the officials.
Chadians have voted in favour of a new constitution that critics say could help consolidate the power of military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby.
The referendum held earlier this month was approved by 86 percent of voters, the government commission that organised it said on Sunday.
Voter turnout was about 64 percent, it said.
Chad’s military authorities have called the vote a vital stepping-stone to elections next year – a long-promised return to democratic rule after they seized power in 2021 when former President Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with rebels.
The new constitution will maintain a unitary state, which Chad has had since independence, while establishing autonomous communities with local assemblies and councils of traditional chiefdoms among other changes.
