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General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno (rightI) at the swearing-in ceremony
Photo: DENIS SASSOU GUEIPEUR / AFP
General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno has been sworn in as interim president in Central African Chad.
At the ceremony before the Supreme Court in the capital N'Djamena on Monday, his term was set at two years.
This extends the transition phase in Chad by a further 24 months, as the "National Dialogue" decided on Saturday.
This will be dissolved when the new interim president takes office, as will the military council that had led the country since April 2021.
Chad, which is rich in oil but riddled with poverty and has a population of almost 17 million, has been run by an interim government since the death of long-term ruler Idriss Déby Itno, the father of the now sworn-in president.
According to official information, Idriss Déby Itno was killed in April 2021 in heavy clashes with the FACT rebel movement in the north of the country.
Deby's son Mahamat was initially installed as president of the military council and promptly arrested dozens of rebels.
At its last meeting at the end of September, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union warned the military government not to extend the 18-month transition phase that had actually been agreed.
In addition, the AU demanded that Idriss Déby Itno and all other members of the military council not stand for future elections.
Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, on the other hand, promised free and fair elections and a return to constitutional order, without giving any further details.
The junta is facing major problems, including being unable to feed its population.
The main reason: The global wheat crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Itno only declared a food emergency in June.
According to the UN, 5.5 million people there could soon be dependent on humanitarian aid.
dop/dpa