Chad army leader's party wins overwhelming senate majority

Chad's senatorial vote at the end of February was the final stage of a political transition that began when Deby took power after the death of his father four years ago.

Deby won a five-year term as president last May in an election boycotted by the opposition and described by international NGOs as "not free nor credible".

The army officer, recently promoted to the rank of field marshal, has since sought to stamp his authority on the landlocked desert Sahel nation.

Two seats in the senate originally allocated to Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) were reassigned to two allied parties on appeal, Chad's Constitutional Council confirmed in Tuesday's final tally.

Swiftly after the results' announcement Deby appointed the last 23 lawmakers needed to complete the senate, which will be responsible for the representation of autonomous communities.

The bicameral parliament was established in 2020 by a reform later confirmed by the new constitution approved in a December 2023 referendum.

In December's legislative elections the MPS was likewise awarded a landslide majority of 124 of the 188 seats in the lower house.

Both votes were similarly boycotted by the opposition, which predicted they would produce "pre-fabricated results".

Voters went to the ballot box against a backdrop of attacks by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region and the ending of a military agreement with former colonial master France.