Chad’s transition council more than doubles in size

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Chad’s interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby in a decree Monday appointed 104 more members to the National Transitional Council, bringing the number to more than double.

It follows a decision of the national reconciliation dialogue forum which recommended in early October increasing the number of members of the council from 93 to 197.

The new members include representatives of the former opposition political parties that participated in the National Sovereign Inclusive Dialogue which last month named Deby as interim president, according to the decree.

Others were picked from former rebel groups that signed a peace agreement in August, youth groups, women’s organizations, trade unions, defense and security establishments, and people living with disabilities.

The council has acted as a parliament since Deby assumed power in 2021 following the death of his father Idriss Deby Itno, who died on the frontline fighting Chad’s rebels.

It is tasked with drafting a new constitution and preparing elections.

Deby is to rule for a non-renewable two-year transition period to elections.

Following his father’s death, the army appointed a Transitional Military Council of 15 generals headed by Mahamat Deby in April 2021.

The Transitional Military Council, which had ruled the country for 18 months, was dissolved last month and reappointed Mahamat Deby as president of the transition.

Mahamat Deby had pledged to hand back power to an elected government after 18 months, a deadline that was not achieved. The deadline was supposed to end last month.

The international community had urged Deby not to run for president in the post-transition.

But the national dialogue forum gave Deby a green light to run for president at the end of the transition among a raft of resolutions adopted under a revised transition charter.

Last month, around 50 people were killed and more than 300 injured after security forces opened fire on protesters demanding an end to military rule.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi was last month appointed by the summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) as mediator of the political transition to elections in Chad.