Chad’s national forum, officially known as the National Sovereign Inclusive Dialogue, has appointed the country’s former president’s son and military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby as interim president for a two-year transitional period until new elections.
The national forum, created to facilitate the transition period in the country, determined that the appointment of 38-year-old Deby to the post of interim president should be accompanied by the disbandment of the Transitional Military Council. The latter is a military committee consisting of 15 generals, including an interim president that has been in power for 18 month since the death of President Deby Itno, Anadolu reported.
Speaking at the two-hour ceremony in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, the new president pledged to “achieve the prescribed deadlines for the return to constitutional order.”
Moreover, he called for peace and ceasefire in the country, promising to release imprisoned rebels in exchange.
“I would like to remind them that the dialogue is a continuous process aimed to build a nation that brings us together at all times. You can join the process in the interest of our common future,” the new president said, appealing to armed rebel groups and opposition, as cited by Anadolu.
Among the foreign guests was Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who earlier accepted an invitation to attend the ceremony, local media reported.
On October 1, a resolution to extend the transition to elections by two years, previously proposed by Chad's National Reconciliation Dialogue, was adopted.
In this context, it was noted that Deby would retain the post of transitional head of state and would also be able to participate in future presidential elections. The decision was made despite the opposition's calls for the contrary.
The transitional period in Chad started with the death of Chadian President Idriss Deby, who was killed by the political and military organisation Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) on April 20, 2021.