Killing of Opposition Leader Casts Dark Cloud Over Upcoming Presidential Elections in Chad

Chad’s path back to constitutional rule may have just hit a major snag.

On Wednesday, heavy gunfire was heard in the capital city of N’Djamena, near the headquarters of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF). In what is reported as a shootout between government security forces and members of the PSF, opposition leader and vocal government critic Yaya Dillo was killed.

Dillo’s death and the run-in between the government and his political party happened on the back of Chad’s election body announcing May 6 as the date for the country’s presidential elections, months earlier than planned. Back in 2021, Mahamat Debytook over as Chad’s head of state after the death of his father, Idriss Deby, a strongman who ruled the Central African nation for 30 years. Mahamat’s entrance into the highest office, aided by the military, was deemed as a palace coup, and many critics have called his government illegitimate.

The announcement of the May 6 election date was seen as a long overdue development. Shortly after becoming head of state, Mahamat formed a transitional council and proposed that there should be elections in about 18 months, but that never happened. Instead, he dissolved the council and declared himself interim president. A month before the initial proposed election date, Mahamat signed a peace agreement and announced that the elections, which had already been moved to September 2023, would be postponed until October 2024.

The postponement was met with loud dissent, including an Oct. 20, 2022 civil protest that was met with deadly force by the army. One of the leaders of the protest, Succès Masra, then leader of the opposition Transformer Party fled to the United States, however he recently returned to Chad and accepted an appointment as Prime Minister. Critics say Mahamat is employing his father’s tactic of placing opposition figures in power, while last December’s referendum to vote for a constitutional amendment is considered a ploy to legitimize his presidency.

Dillo, a relative of the Deby family, was a critic of the late Idriss Deby and remained critical of Mahamat Deby for usurping power. Dillo was formerly part of the ruling party, Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), before exiting and founding the PSF. While running for president against Idriss in 2021, the army unsuccessfully attempted to arrest Dillo in his N’Djamena residence and ended up killing Dillo’s mother in the assault.

Wednesday’s shootout that led to Dillo’s death followed an earlier clash at Chad’s National Security Agency (ANSE) headquarters, which the government said was caused by the PSF. Dillo denied the accusation, with his party saying that its members only went to the ANSE site to retrieve the body of Ahmed Torabi, who was arrested and shot after being accused of attempting to assassinate the Supreme Court’s president. The PSF also denied that accusation. It also stated that soldiers fired at those who went to retrieve Torabi’s body.

The clash extended to the PSF headquarters later on Wednesday, which led to the death of Dillo and 12 other PSF members. The government has contested PSF’s death toll, claiming that only three people were killed. The country’s internet service was cut during these clashes, continuing the repressive tactics that have been a mainstay in Chad for decades.

Now, the death of Dillo, arguably the strongest opposition figure in the country, could be a dark cloud hanging over Chad’s May 6 elections, one many observers say might not be altogether free and fair, especially since the MPS has adopted Mahamat Deby as its candidate.