FILE PHOTO: Chad's interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia January 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's Constitutional Council on Sunday cleared 10 candidates for this year's long-awaited presidential election, including interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby and the country's recently-appointed prime minister.
The central African nation is scheduled to hold the first round of a presidential election in May as part of a transition back to democracy from junta rule.
Deby initially promised an 18-month transition to elections after he seized power in 2021, when his long-ruling father was killed in clashes with rebels.
But his government later adopted resolutions that postponed elections until 2024 and allowed him to run for president, triggering protests that were violently quelled by security forces.
In December, Chadians voted in favour of a new constitution that critics said could help cement Deby's grip on power as it allowed him to run for the presidency.
Deby confirmed his intention to run earlier this month.
The candidate list released on Sunday included opposition leader Succes Masra, appointed as prime minister of the transitional government in January.
It is the first time is Chad's history that a president and a prime minister will face each other in a presidential poll.
A staunch opponent of Chad's junta, Masra had fled the country after dozens were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations in the capital N'Djamena in October 2022.
The first round of voting is scheduled to take place on May 6 and the second round on June 22, with provisional results due on July 7.
Chad's military government is one of several juntas currently ruling in West and Central Africa. There have been eight coups in the region since 2020, sparking concerns of a democratic backslide.
It is the first of those transitional authorities to organise elections.
(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Ros Russell)
