Violence and questions of voter fraud, however, marred the provisional vote count, which was announced earlier than expected.
Military leader Mahamat Idriss Déby won a closely watched award presidential election in Chad, according to provisional results published by its National Election Management Agency.
Deby received more than 61 percent of the vote, according to figures released Thursday, eliminating the need for a runoff with his closest rival, Prime Minister Succes Masra, who received 18.5 percent.
This victory allows Deby, the outgoing president, to retain the presidency with an electoral mandate.
Previously, he led the country as interim president, taking power after his father, the late President Idriss Deby, was killed in April 2021 while fighting a rebel group in the north of the country.
But his presidential rival, Masra, has already indicated that he will not accept the results of the election.
Earlier Thursday, Masra posted a live stream on Facebook declaring himself the winner. He also accused Déby and other government officials of rigging election results to retain power.
“A small number of individuals believe they can make people believe that the elections were won by the same system that has ruled Chad for decades,” Masra said.
Déby’s father led the country for more than 30 years, from 1990 to 2021, when he was gunned down shortly after his sixth presidential victory.
Critics have accused him, and now his son, current President Déby, of stifle the opposition to maintain their hold on power.
They also highlighted the circumstances leading up to the May 6 presidential vote that could have influenced its outcome.
For example, one of the main opposition figures, Déby’s cousin Yaya Dillo, was killed when security forces engaged in a shootout at his party headquarters.
Other opposition figures were banned to denounce “irregularities” in their campaign applications.
On Thursday, Masra called on his supporters and security forces to support his claim to the presidency and reject the electoral agency’s results.
“To all Chadians who voted for change, who voted for me, I say: mobilize. Do it calmly, in a spirit of peace,” he said in his Facebook post.
Thursday’s results came earlier than expected, with provisional results initially scheduled for May 21.
Chad is considered the first of the military-ruled countries in Africa’s Sahel region to hold democratic elections, although questions about the fairness and credibility of the vote persist.
Neighboring countries like Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have weathered coups that also left military leaders in control of their governments. Eight coups have hit the region since 2020 alone.
This month’s presidential race was also the first time in the country’s history that an incumbent president faced his prime minister in the polls.
Upon taking office in 2021, Déby pledged to hold “free and democratic elections” within 18 months – but his government extended the transition period until 2024, allowing Déby to remain in power in the meantime.
During this period, he organized a referendum on a new constitution this allowed him to mount his candidacy for the 2024 elections.
A long-time military man, Déby headed the powerful DGSSIE, an acronym for General Directorate of Security Services of State Institutions. In this role he worked closely with French troops.
Home to nearly 18 million people, Chad was under French colonial rule until 1960 and remains the last country in the Sahel region to have a French military presence, with warplanes and troops stationed there.
Following Thursday’s announcement, security forces were stationed at intersections in the capital N’Djamena in case of unrest.
