Chadians voted to elect their arch-favorite president, Idriss Déby

The Chadians voted this Sunday in the presidential election where Marshal-President Idriss Déby Itno is seeking a sixth term that he is sure to win against six candidates without stature, after having dismissed the rare tenors of a divided opposition.

The real stake of this ballot remains the participation of some 7.3 million voters, out of 15 million inhabitants.

The two camps are already claiming victory: the toughest opposition, which considers that its call for a boycott of the ballot has been followed, and the government, which ensures that the Chadians have moved massively to vote.

Read also: Idriss Déby, the indestructible president of Chad

In power for 30 years, the head of state voted in the morning in front of a swarm of journalists, soldiers and armed police, and called on the population to do the same.

Marshal Déby campaigned extensively on "

" of which he says he is the architect, in his country but also in a tormented region: Chad, landlocked between Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic among others, is a major contributor to the fight against jihadists in the Sahel, by sending seasoned troops to Mali and sometimes Nigeria.

But the economic record is gloomy.

Chad is ranked 187th out of 189 according to the Human Development Index of the UN program in 2020. In 2018, 42% of the population lived below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

In N'Djamena, the streets were almost empty, with a large deployment of police and soldiers crisscrossing the city.

The majority of the inhabitants seem to lose interest in a ballot "

" and try painfully to make ends meet, between two cuts of water and electricity, sometimes several days in a row.

For several months, the regime has systematically prohibited “

” that the most virulent opposition parties are trying to organize.

And the formidable riot police disperse each start of the rally, which attracts only a few dozen reckless people.

First female candidate

The Supreme Court invalidated the candidacies of seven of the 16 contenders.

Then three candidates, including the “

”

rival

Saleh Kebzabo, withdrew to protest against the violence and called for a boycott, but the Court kept their names on the ballots which therefore show 10 candidates.

Only six actually challenge the president: Félix Nialbé Romadoumngar, Albert Pahimi Padacké, Théophile Yombombe Madjitoloum, Baltazar Aladoum Djarma, Brice Mbaïmon Guedmbaye and, first woman candidate in the history of Chad, Lydie Beassemda.

Elite soldiers in the red berets of the Republican Guard, the praetorian guard of the regime, had been positioned since Saturday massively in the most sensitive places.

Police and soldiers were stationed near the headquarters of parties calling for a boycott.

Provisional results are scheduled for April 25, and final results for May 15.

"

", sums up a diplomat under cover of 'anonymity.