Chad votes in first Sahel presidential poll since wave of coups

6/5/2024 12:15

        Chadians go to the polls on Monday three years after their military leader seized power, in the first presidential election in Africa's Sahel region since a wave of coups.
        
        Analysts say Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power the day rebels killed his long-ruling father Idriss Deby in April 2021, is most likely to win, although his chief opponent has been drawing larger-than-expected crowds on the campaign trail.
        
        Deby has promised to bolster security, strengthen the rule of law and increase electricity production.
        
        The vote coincides with a temporary withdrawal of U.S. troops from Chad, an important Western ally in a region of West and Central Africa courted by Russia and wracked by jihadism.
        
        Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., with some 8.5 million people registered to vote.
        
        Soldiers began early voting on Sunday.