Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno, who had been in power for 30 years, died on Tuesday from wounds sustained on the front line in battles against rebels in the northern part of the country over the weekend, as announced by the military spokesman on official television. General Azem Bermandoa Agouna stated in a message broadcast on Chad TV that "the President of the Republic breathed his last while defending the unity and integrity of the country on the battlefield." He added, "We announce with great sadness to the Chadian people the news of the Marshal of Chad's death."
Déby’s killing came just after his reelection for a sixth term, having received 79.32% of the votes in the presidential election held on April 11, according to the election commission announced on Monday. The voter turnout was 64.81%. The incumbent president won in the first round, as explained by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kody Mohamed Bani, while disclosing the "provisional" official results, which must be approved by the Supreme Court after considering potential appeals.
Former Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacké came in second place with 10.32%. The first woman to run for the presidency in Chad’s history finished third, receiving 3.16% of the votes. Nine candidates officially registered to face Déby, but three of them withdrew and called for a boycott of the vote; however, the Supreme Court kept their names on the ballots. Déby’s reelection was widely anticipated, even as the Chadian people showed a lack of enthusiasm for the elections on April 11, facing six candidates who lacked significant political weight, as the authorities had removed few prominent figures in the deeply divided opposition from the race through law, violence, or intimidation.
