Chad's opposition gear up for runoff ahead of poll results

Opposition candidates in Chad are bracing themselves for a second round of voting even before official results from the first round of the country’s presidential election are released.

According to Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo, a spokesperson for the opposition candidates, their tally of the April 10 election results from their representatives at all the polling stations, indicates that no candidate has secured an absolute majority. They have therefore warned that they will not accept any results that states otherwise.

#Chad's opposition unites against President #Deby https://t.co/6gIouXSo1F #Tchad

— Imad Mesdoua (@ImadMesdoua) April 17, 2016

Their claim is considered a sign of heightened tension in the West African country whose president is seeking a fifth term in office.

The opposition spokesperson says the incumbent president, Idriss Deby has asked them to accept results being prepared by the electoral commission to declare him winner of the poll for the sake of peace, the VOA reported.

Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo who is also the president of the Party for Liberty and Development (PLD) however said the opposition will never accept such an abuse of democracy and wants a second round of polls to be held in line with Chad’s constitution.

Chad’s electoral commission has 2 weeks from the day of the polls to declare the final results.

Mahamat Zen Bada, campaign manager for President Deby, assured that the president was committed to respecting the values and principles of democracy. He thus urged the other political parties to maintain the prevailing peace and serenity in the country.

Deby came to power in a 1990 coup which deposed President Hissene Habre. He has since stayed in power. He changed the constitution in 2004 to extend his stay in office by eliminating the two-term limit on the presidential tenure.