Helga Dickow in The Conversation: Four things Mahamat Déby has done to stay in power

Chad’s presidential election campaigns officially kicked off on Sunday 14 April 2024 in the capital city, N'Djamena.

Transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby held a large meeting for members of the government, the military and various political parties in front of the presidential palace. Prime minister Succès Masra, meanwhile, led a large convoy of cars and motorbikes through the city and was accompanied by a crowd of mainly young followers.

The election will take place on 6 May 2024 and end a three-year transition period led by Mahamat Déby after the sudden death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, in April 2021. Helga Dickow argues that Chad’s three-year transition programme had a single objective: the long-term retention of power by Mahamat Déby. In an article for The Conversation she analyzes the four things Mahamat Déby has done to stay in power.

Read the full article on the website of The Conversation in English or in Frech.

More contributions by Helga Dickow on this topic: 

• Helga Dickow cited by BBC: Will President Mahamat Idriss Deby keep to his promises?
• Helga Dickow in The Conversation: Political violence and processes of democratisation in Chad
• State crisis and elections in Chad: Helga Dickow quoted by DW