Chad's opposition calls for general strike to protest Deby's win

Chad’s opposition has called for a general strike on Thursday to contest the confirmation of Idriss Deby as winner of the April 10 polls.

The country’s constitutional court on Tuesday confirmed that Idriss Deby who has led the country since 1990 after a coup, won the poll with just about 60 percent of the votes.

But that figure has been disputed by the opposition. The opposition parties had even before the release of the official results by the electoral body, said no one candidate had won the first round of the poll.

It still stands by its word stressing that its own tally from all the polling stations are valid.

Opposition candidate, Kebzabo Saleh who according to election officials secured just 12 percent of the votes, has refuted the result insisting he won the first round with 33 percent.

Provisional results & results offered by opposition differ in Chad.
Opposition want election results nullified pic.twitter.com/bpXAQ6aJdy

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) May 2, 2016

Since the release of official results by the electoral commission two weeks ago, 6 of the opposition candidates have denounced it due to what they say was a “hold up” in the poll.

Chad’s April 10 poll has proven very controversial with several reports of abduction of people who did not vote for President Deby.

Amnesty International and a local rights group have said that at least twenty military and police officers have gone missing since after the poll.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s call for a strike on Thursday appears not have been so successful according to some media reports even though some schools in the capital Ndjamena are said to have been closed.

News Agencies