On the Election in Chad

Following the certification of final presidential election results by Chad’s Constitutional Council on May 16, the United States commends those who exercised their right to vote on May 5-6. We welcome the peaceful conduct of the voting and its aftermath, although we regret the multiple casualties from celebratory gunfire that followed the announcement of provisional results on May 9.

Though the 10 candidates who were allowed to run generally followed the code of electoral conduct and were able to campaign nationally, we are concerned, that 10 other candidates were disqualified with no avenue for appeal prior to the campaign. We are also concerned that the revision of the electoral list may have omitted many young voters who turned 18 after 2021 and that thousands of civil society and opposition party observers were barred from observing the electoral process on the day before the vote, including over 2,500 EU-trained observers.

Although there were troubling shortcomings, we welcome the milestones in Chad’s transition process, including negotiating with insurgents, undertaking a National Dialogue, holding a constitutional referendum, and conducting a presidential election. We regret that Chad’s transitional government was not fully inclusive in setting up the institutions responsible for organizing elections and adjudicating electoral disputes. This exclusion contributed to legitimate concerns about transparency that undermined public confidence in the election and in the democratic process. We urge Chadian authorities to work with all stakeholders – especially political parties and civil society organizations – to address any concerns with this election and strengthen the inclusivity and transparency of Chad’s institutional framework for future elections.