Following the voting on Monday, May 6th, the long wait for the results of the presidential election has begun for the Chadian people, starting with the ten candidates themselves. The suspense will only end with the proclamation of the provisional results of this election, scheduled to be announced no later than two weeks from now. Each candidate is now returning to their ordinary daily lives, including the transitional president and his Prime Minister, raising questions about the continuation of this “cohabitation” at the helm of the state.
“It’s the calm after the storm,” acknowledges one of the presidential candidates, who says he is enjoying “a well-deserved rest after weeks of intense campaigning.” He is not alone in this sentiment: each of the 10 candidates is taking a break or has already returned to their professional activities. This is while they await the announcement of the results, as reported by our special envoy to Ndjamena, Esdras Ndikumana.
The same goes for the leaders of the Chadian transitional executive, “the pilot and the co-pilot,” as the duo formed by transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby and his Prime Minister Succès Masra is called. Each has resumed their position as if nothing had happened: the former at the Toumaï Palace and the latter at the Prime Minister’s office.
“But there are words and gestures that are not forgotten,” quips a senior official close to the transitional president, alluding to the remarks made during an increasingly intense electoral campaign.
The rivalry between Mahamat Idriss Déby and Succès Masra was such that these two prominent figures, the most prominent during the campaign, did not hesitate to launch verbal attacks from a distance, sometimes “poisoned,” according to a researcher. “But for the moment, they are obliged to continue their strange cohabitation until the announcement of the results,” which is scheduled no later than May 21st, he added.
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and its facilitator, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, praise the “calm” of the elections.
The facilitation mission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) also commends the conduct of the election. Designated by his peers in the regional organization as the facilitator for the transition process in Chad, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has conveyed his congratulations to the authorities in Ndjamena. This was done through his representative, Congolese Minister of Tourism Didier Mazenga.
The Congolese President had already facilitated the return of opposition figure Succès Masra to the country, who is now the incumbent Prime Minister and a presidential candidate.