Source : Sahel weather December 2024 

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The effects of the termination of the defense agreements between Chad and France were not long in materializing.A few days after the announcement, the French army began withdrawing its troops. In a press release published on December 10, 2024, the Chadian General Staff stated that “part of the fighter aircraft” - two of the three French Mirage 2000s - had left the Adji Kossei air base in the capital N'Djaména. On December 19, Paris received a request for the departure of French forces before January 31, 2025. “Negotiations are still underway,” said the French military, according to RFI. This relatively tight deadline, set by Chad, is seen as a simple “pressure tactic from the hard fringe of the first circle of Chadian power”, according to the same source.

Media denounce “censorship

On the other hand, the clash between the Association des médias en ligne du Tchad (Amet) and the Haute autorité de l'audiovisuel (Hama) has had a few emulators. Following a decision by the Hama to ban news websites from producing audiovisual content, Amet protested strongly, immediately calling an indefinite strike. The Chadian Convention for the Defense of Human Rights (CTDH) agreed with Amet, denouncing “unjustified censorship” and “demanding the repeal of restrictive measures” that “undermine freedom of expression”. A meeting between the two parties on December 12 was totally fruitless, to say the least. Protesting against “a discourteous convocation”, Amet deemed Hama responsible for an “informational black hole” in the middle of the election campaign. On the Hama's side, it denounced the behavior of certain media outlets as going against journalistic rules and potentially harmful during the election period. In the end, the Supreme Court settled the controversy, ordering the suspension of the Hama's decision. “Any online newspaper may be published without prior authorization and without posting a bond after the declaration prescribed by law”, the Court notified in an order on December 20.

Low voter turnout

It was in this particularly tense atmosphere that some eight million voters turned out on Sunday December 29 for the general elections ( legislative, provincial and local). According to estimates by the Agence nationale de gestion des élections (ANGE), the turnout for this election, boycotted by the opposition, was around 52% (36.22% in N'Djamena). Even before the end of the count, some opposition parties denounced “fraud”. This was the case of Abdelaziz Koulamallah, candidate for the post of deputy for the Federal Party for Justice and Development (PFJD), who declared in a video that “the military came to vote (Saturday 28) without a voter's card or national identity card. The same person could vote twenty-five or fifty times." In addition, local observers expressed reservations about the transparency of the ballot. Meanwhile, according to ANGE president Ahmat Batcherit, the ballot was a “success”. "You can't say there was no pressure at all. These are small incidents (...) that are contained on the spot”, he moderated. The results of these general elections are scheduled for January 25, 2025 at the latest.

On the other hand, the current socio-political turmoil in the country has not prevented the National Transition Council from elevating President Mahamat Idriss Déby to the rank of Field Marshal. At a ceremony held at the presidency, the Chadian head of state followed in his late father's footsteps, donning the blue and gold uniform of the country's highest distinction. The security situation is unlikely to have improved significantly, despite a relative lull. Earlier this month, at least 27 people lost their lives in the southern town of Maro, during violent clashes between pastoralists and armed men from the Central African Republic (CAR). According to the local gendarmerie commander, an armed group from the CAR attacked local pastoralists and gendarmes. At the same time, another bloody clash between herders and farmers left at least 11 people dead, in the Logone Oriental province of the Nya Pendé department.