Chadian Prime Minister Masra Steps Down After Déby Wins Presidential Election

Chadian Prime Minister Succès Masra has resigned from his position just over two weeks after his defeat to junta leader Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in the presidential elections. Masra, who was also an opposition leader, tendered his resignation on Wednesday following the confirmation of interim President Mahamat Idriss Déby as the winner of the May 6 presidential election.

Masra, a vocal critic of the junta that seized power in April 2021, was appointed prime minister of the transitional government in January in an effort to appease the opposition. His candidacy for the presidential election was cleared in March as part of the country’s transition back to constitutional rule.

Chad, an oil-producing country, is the first in a series of coup-hit states in West and Central Africa’s Sahel region to attempt a return to democratic governance. Before the official announcement of preliminary results, Masra had claimed victory in the election, alleging electoral fraud. However, Chad’s state election body declared Déby as the winner with 61% of the vote, a decision later confirmed by the constitutional council.

“In accordance with the constitution, I have today presented… my resignation and that of the transitional government, which has become irrelevant with the end of the presidential election of May 6,” Masra stated on Wednesday. Déby’s victory extends the rule of the family that has held power since Déby’s father took over in a coup in the early 1990s.