Keypoints:
- Lower house backs sweeping constitutional reforms
- Critics warn of democracy ‘burial’ in Chad
- Final Senate vote set for 13 October
CHAD is a step closer to allowing its president to serve an unlimited number of terms after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved major constitutional changes this week, according to a report by French broadcaster RFI.
The National Assembly voted on Monday to extend the presidential term from five to seven years and remove term limits entirely. The measure passed with 171 votes in favour, one abstention and 16 opposition MPs boycotting the session. A final Senate vote is scheduled for October 13. If passed, President Mahamat Idriss Déby is expected to sign the reforms into law.
Opposition warns of democratic erosion
Opposition leaders denounced the move as a threat to Chad’s fragile democracy. Malloum Yoboïdé Djeraki, head of the Social Democratic Party for a Change of Power (PDSA) and a member of the parliamentary committee reviewing the bill, told RFI he was ‘surprised by the scope of the changes’.
‘They spoke of a technical revision, but we discovered a profound modification of the Constitution,’ he said. Former prime minister and presidential contender Albert Pahimi Padacké warned that the country was ‘choosing to abandon the democratic path’, adding: ‘We risk seeing the burial of democracy in our country.’
Déby’s path to long-term rule
President Déby seized power in 2021 after his father, long-time ruler Idriss Déby Itno, was killed while visiting troops fighting northern militias. Mahamat Déby cemented his position after a contested May 2024 election following three years of military rule. Parliamentary polls in December delivered a commanding majority to his Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party.
Security analyst Remadji Hoinathy of the Institute for Security Studies told Reuters the Senate is almost certain to endorse the reforms. ‘There are fewer and fewer dissenting voices. This clearly opens the possibility for the president and ruling party to establish a long-term stronghold on power,’ he said.
Ruling party defends process
Despite opposition outcry, MPS spokesperson Abdel Nasser Garboa insisted the constitutional review was ‘a normal process’. He said legal experts and a technical committee examined the reforms before the Assembly vote. ‘The politicians who say they are surprised, that’s just their perspective,’ he told RFI.
The political backdrop remains tense. Succès Masra, a former prime minister and once a fierce critic of Déby who claimed victory in the 2024 presidential election, resigned after the vote and was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for inciting violence.
The Senate’s decision on October 13 will determine whether Chad formally abandons presidential term limits, a move critics say could entrench Déby’s rule for years to come.
