“Do everything possible” for Success of Presidential Polls: Catholic Bishops in Chad to Government

On April 14, a three-week campaign for the May 6 Presidential elections in Chad started in the landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. 

“In 21 days, the candidates will present to Chadians their projects. Militants and sympathizers need to be tolerant during this campaign and avoid any acts that might result in public disorder," the president of Chad's National Election Management Agency (ANGE), Ahmed Bartchiret, said in a televised address announcing the start of campaigns.

Chad's transitional President, Mahamat Idriss Déby, and his Prime Minister Succes Masra are among the candidates vying for the post of president of the Republic.

In April 2021, President Idriss Déby Itno who had been at the helm of the country since 1990 died after succumbing to injuries from a battle with the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), a dissident army rebel group in the Northern part of the country.

Following his death, a transitional council of military officers led by Deby's son, Mahamat Idriss, as interim president, started overseeing Chad’s transition period for the next 18 months.

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In their collective statement dated April 13, CET members invite Chad's international partners to “use their various influences to bring the various stakeholders to meet their commitments for a peaceful end to the Transition with the establishment of credible institutions.”

They call on the candidates to “effectively implement the intentions contained in the code of good conduct they have signed, and to ensure that it is respected by their supporters.”

CET members call on the electorate to “favor the path of peace and dialogue, fulfilling their electoral duty to the best of their ability and conscience.”

Addressing themselves to the faithful and all people of good will, the Catholic Bishops in Chad call for “exemplary conduct to the smooth running of the electoral process, to preserve peace, tranquility and the physical and moral integrity of people.”

“We appeal to all to respect the dignity of the human person. Chad's future is in the hands of its children. Peace is above all a gift from God to be received and built together.,” CET members say.

They continue, “For our part, we pray that the Good and Merciful God will take our country under His care and enlighten the actors involved in this process for a definitive return to peace.”

“May peace be with you, and may God bless Chad, our beautiful country,” Catholic Bishops in Chad implore in their April 13 statement.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.