Politics

17, April 2021

Cuba: Castro resigns from ruling party to hand power to younger generation ⁰

Former Cuban President Raul Castro has announced his resignation as the head of the country’s ruling Communist Party, the most powerful position in the Caribbean island nation.

Castro made the announcement during a speech Friday on the first day of the party’s eighth congress, saying he is handing over power to a younger generation that is “full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit.”

“I believe fervently in the strength and exemplary nature and comprehension of my compatriots, and as long as I live, I will be ready with my foot in the stirrups to defend the fatherland, the revolution and socialism,” he told party delegates at the closed-door meeting at a convention center in Havana.

Castro underlined that he was retiring with the sense of having “fulfilled his mission and confident in the future of the fatherland.”

He is expected to formally step down on April 19, the last day of the congress, when the party’s new leadership will be elected.

The 89-year-old was elected to the top position in 2011, succeeding his older brother and ex-president Fidel Castro, who had held that position since the founding of Cuba’s Communist Party in 1965.

Raul Castro announced in 2018 that he expected incumbent President Miguel Diaz-Canel to replace him after his retirement in 2021. The 60-year-old represents a new generation and has been serving the first of two five-year terms as president.

Castro’s retirement comes as Cuba is facing multiple challenges exacerbated by US-led sanctions against the Caribbean island nation as well as the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuba’s economy shrank 11 percent last year due to the deadly viral pathogen and tightened US sanctions which have caused a decline in aid from its ally, Venezuela.

Moreover, the US returned Havana to its so-called list of “state sponsors of terrorism” just nine days before Republican President Donald Trump left office.

The then US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Cuba was being blacklisted for “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism,” and cited Cuba’s security support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Source: Presstv

17, April 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The world’s most neglected conflict ⁰

The central African nation of Cameroon is better known for football, but its bloody, under-reported conflict deserves our attention. The right of minorities to self-determination is at the heart of violence blighting the lives of millions of unarmed civilians.

The Vatican has been increasingly diplomatically engaged, encouraging the Cameroon government to participate in inclusive peace talks, mediated by a third party. A webinar, hosted by the Liberal Democrats, on 19 April 6.30 – 8pm explores these issues.

Cameroon has been ruled by President Paul Biya, age 88, since 1982. He continues to win elections that no international monitor considers free and fair, and his country is ranked among the world’s most corrupt and repressive by Transparency International and Freedom House, respectively.

In 2016, Biya’s Francophone-dominated regime tried to impose French-speaking judges and teachers on the English-speaking regions, representing 20% of the population. Peaceful Anglophone protests were crushed with what impartial human rights groups described as disproportionate force. The UN estimates 700,000 civilians (out of six million Anglophones) have fled to the bush and beyond. UNICEF says one million children are out of school. Local civil society groups believe 5,000 people have been killed. Meanwhile, hundreds of opposition figures are imprisoned without due process.

Armed militias have emerged, demanding a sovereign country called “The Federal Republic of Ambazonia,” and rights monitors believe all armed sides are behaving with impunity, with unarmed civilians caught in the middle. The former colonial powers, the UK and France, offer bland calls for the respect for international human rights law, but neither government will apply pressure on Cameroon to attend inclusive mediated peace talks offered by the Swiss and the Vatican. Cardinal Parolin, the Papal envoy, visited Cameroon in January, and rights monitors suggest that Pope Francis is the only world leader commanding the respect of President Biya.

The webinar will explore a cross section of views on the way forward. Speakers include Dr Chris Fomunyoh from the National Democratic Institute in Washington DC, and Juliette Paauwe of the Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect.

Source: Independent Catholic News

16, April 2021

Cameroon: Professor Messanga Nyamding takes CPDM drama to the north ⁰

Professor Messanga Nyamding, the former faculty member of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), who was recently transferred to Ngaoundere by the country’s higher education minister, Fame Ndongo, who also doubles as an indefatigable professional dancer, has finally arrived his new duty station.

Messanga Nyamding’s transfer, which is a disciplinary measure for his incisive criticism of his own party, the ruling CPDM, also known as the crime syndicate, is gradually transforming him into a clown and rock star at the same time.

Upon reaching his new duty station, the notorious professor, headed to a local restaurant where he ate a one-kilometer long loaf of bread with an entire pot of meat before heading to the university where he will be imparting knowledge to young Cameroonians.

The minister of higher education, Fame Ndongo, had said on national television that the frustrated professor of international relations would be received in his new obscure university as a hero.

He made this declaration while seeking to prove that Professor Messanga Nyamding’s brutal and sudden transfer was not politically motivated.

Professor Messanga Nyamding had criticized the secretary general at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, on national TV, pointing out that the all powerful secretary general was fostering corruption in the civil service by promoting nepotism and mediocrity.

Cameroon has long been known for its legendary corruption and it has, on two occasions, won the world cup for corruption under the watchful eyes of Peter Mafany Musonge who was the country’s prime Minister at the time.

Messanga Nyamding who is cash strapped has accepted his humiliation and has grudgingly moved to Ngaoundere, but he wants to make political out of his misfortune.

As predicted by Fame Ndongo, Professor Messanga Nyamding was received with pump and pageantry by motorcycle riders of Ngaoundere. But the Chancellor of the Univerisy, Professor Chinje, was not willing to see Messanga Nyamding enjoy his rock star status. She did her best to rain on Messanga Nyamding’s parade.

Instead of being a beautiful event, the CPDM drama ended up being a COVID-19 super spreader event, with the boisterous and flamboyant Nyamding spraying the deadly virus across the entire city. What was supposed to have been a simple event to escort Professor Nyamding ended up being a super spreader event, with onlookers and participants ignoring all COVID-19 safety protocols and with Messanga Nyamding coughing and blowing his nose irresponsibly.

Professor Messanga Nyamding might not have had the joy and privilege of being escorted to his new duty station because of Prof. Chinje, but he did at least draw attention to himself.

His objective has always been to draw the attention of the country’s president, Paul Biya. He has been looking forward to a good appointment but his dream seems to be turning into a nightmare as his political comrades have resorted to persecuting him as a means of shutting him up for good.

Yesterday’s event in Ngaoundere is by no means the last we will be seeing from the frustrated and flamboyant Nyamding. He needs a political appointment and recognition and he will stop at nothing when it comes to achieving his objective.

Nyamding is hungry. He is cash strapped and while he has taken the humiliation from Professor Fame Ndongo and Mr. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh lying down, he has not taken his eye off the ball. Cameroonians will be hearing from him soon as he remains a key member of the CPDM comedy cast.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

14, April 2021

Biden urges Putin to show restraint in Ukraine amid troop build-up on border ⁰

US President Joe Biden has asked Vladmir #Putin to show restraint with #Ukraine, amid signs #Russia has mobilised thousands of troops in the border region in recent weeks.

In a phone call Tuesday, Biden urged his Russian counterpart to de-escalate tensions on the border, and invited him to an in-person summit.

14, April 2021

After Prince Philip: what next for Queen Elizabeth II? ⁰

Queen Elizabeth II faces the twilight of her record-breaking reign without her most trusted adviser and personal confidant — husband Prince Philip.

But his death last week aged 99 is not expected to change the monarch’s lifetime commitment to duty, as a new chapter beckons for Britain’s most famous family.

The Queen, who turns 95 next week, once described the Duke of Edinburgh as her “strength and stay”, in a rare moment of public candour.

He has been credited with the successful running of “The Firm”, cementing its position in national life, and helping it to weather crises and scandal.

“The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person,” said the couple’s second son, Prince Andrew, who has been under a shadow because of his links to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

“She described (the duke’s death) as having left a huge void in her life,” he told reporters, adding the family was “rallying round to make sure we’re there to support her”.

– Life of service –

A steady stream of close family members have visited the Queen since last week, including her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, Andrew, and youngest son, Edward.

Edward said his mother was “bearing up”, despite the understandable shock at the loss.

The Times reported on Tuesday that she is currently not being given her daily red boxes of government papers during the two weeks of official royal mourning.

But early signs are the Queen will remain faithful to the commitment she made in a radio address to the Commonwealth as a 21-year-old princess from Cape Town, South Africa, in 1947.

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,” she said.

Just a day after her husband’s death was announced, she had an audience with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the Court Circular, which lists royal events and engagements.

On Tuesday, she hosted an event at Windsor Castle, west of London, to mark the retirement of the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer in the royal household.

She has links to more than 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.

– Family support –

Prince Philip was almost ever-present at the Queen’s side since she acceded to the throne in 1952 but had been seen less after retiring from public duties in 2017.

It is expected she will now rely more heavily on Charles, his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as second-in-line Prince William and his wife at engagements, according to British media reports.

Charles, now 72, has already taken on more of her duties in recent years, including overseas, in preparation for his long-awaited succession.

He is expected to accompany his mother for the state opening of Parliament on May 11.

Younger royals have also accompanied her at events, including online over videoconference during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Times quoted royal sources as saying she will still carry out solo engagements.

The Queen’s apparent desire to get out and about is in stark contrast to Britain’s last female monarch, Queen Victoria, who wore black for four decades and barely made any public appearances after her husband Albert’s death in 1861.

Her seclusion led her to being called the “widow of Windsor” and increased the popularity of the republican movement.

– Step up –

Public sympathy for the Queen after her husband’s death is high, and she has consistently topped polls as the most popular royal.

Her presence and longevity as Britain’s longest-serving monarch have helped stave off republican sentiment, even as attitudes to the monarchy have changed over the years.

Charles has effectively taken over his father’s role as the most senior royal male, and if he follows in his footsteps, he has a series of pressing issues to deal with.

Andrew’s public reappearance last weekend caused outrage in some quarters, as US prosecutors still want to speak to him about his links to Epstein.

The palace is also dealing with the fall-out of Charles’ youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s shock move to the United States last year — and their explosive claims of racism and treatment in the royal family.

Saturday’s funeral will also see Harry and elder brother William reunited, with widely-reported claims of a deep rift between the pair.

The brothers — once close after the death of their mother, princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997 — pointedly issued separate tributes to their grandfather after his passing.

Source: AFP

14, April 2021

Benin’s Talon reelected president with 86 percent of vote ⁰

Benin’s President Patrice Talon was easily re-elected to a second term, provisional results showed Tuesday, after a weekend election critics said was already stacked in his favour following a crackdown on his opponents.

Talon, a cotton tycoon first elected to lead the West African state in 2016, faced two little-known rivals in Sunday’s vote with most of his key opponents in exile or disqualified from running.

Talon won 86.3 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said as it announced preliminary results, while his opponents Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue got 11.29 and 2.25 percent respectively.

Benin’s constitutional court must verify the final results.

Once praised as a vibrant multi-party democracy, critics say the former French colony has veered onto an authoritarian path under Talon with a steady campaign against his political foes.

Three international observer missions had already noted low turnout in the election, though they said the vote generally went ahead peacefully despite tensions and protests in the lead-up.

With the 62-year-old incumbent almost guaranteed victory, analysts had said voter turnout would be a key measure of his election success.

Turnout was 50.17 percent, the commission said.

Even before the announcement, for some Beninese the election results meant little.

“This election was just folklore,” said restaurant owner George Kpatchavi. “We are not waiting for the results because they were already known in advance. After the elections, everything will return to order.”

An association of civil society groups, which deployed more than 1,400 election observers, said in its preliminary statement Sunday that “attempts to pressurise, intimidate, threaten, corrupt or harass voters were observed across the entire country”.

Protests in north

Protests had blocked some routes in opposition strongholds in the centre and north of the country in the run-up to the election, leading to delays in the dispatch of electoral materials.

Two people were killed last week when troops fired live rounds into the air to break up an opposition protest blockading a major route in the central city of Save.

Benin has seen some economic successes under Talon, who promised a “KO” first-round win in Sunday’s election. Supporters have praised his projects to expand electricity and basic services.

But since Talon first came to power, critics say he has used a special economic crimes and terrorism court and electoral reforms as tools to disqualify the opposition.

Reckya Madougou, one opposition leader who was barred from running, was detained last month on accusations of plotting to disrupt the vote, a charge her lawyer said was politically motivated.

Earlier this month, a judge from the special court that ordered her detention said he had fled the country, denouncing political pressure to make rulings against Talon’s opponents.

Government officials dismissed claims the election was rigged to favour Talon and said exiled opposition leaders were trying to have the vote cancelled with a smear campaign.

Source: AFP

14, April 2021

Yaoundé: MPs to debate solution to the Southern Cameroons Crisis ⁰

In a bid to continue deceiving the people of Southern Cameroons that the Social Democratic Front party of Ni John Fru Ndi is still a force within the Biya Francophone political setting, Yaoundé has announced that the crisis in Southern Cameroons will be on the agenda of the next parliamentary session, four years after the conflict began.

The information was made public by the regime after secret service officers reported that ghost town operations put in place all over Southern Cameroons by the Ambazonia Interim Government is paralyzing the economies of many towns and cities including those in French Cameroun and hampering the flow of Ambazonia money into the French Cameroun treasury.

A highly placed official inside the Etoudi palace was quoted by Le Jour –a French Cameroun newspaper as saying “The crisis that is shaking the North-West and South-West regions will finally be put on the National Assembly’s agenda next June”.

Fru Ndi’s man in Yaoundé, Hon. Joshua Osih has reportedly confirmed the CPDM French Cameroun decision and told Le Jour that “We have always fought for a debate on the crisis in the North West and South West regions. This has been agreed and could be put on the agenda for the June session. I think we will come back to this issue in June and to the budgetary orientation debate. This session was dense. We are going home with the feeling that we have played our role well. It is important to know that the sessions follow each other and are not alike.”

SDF boycotted the opening of the November 2017 session, to force the Biya Francophone government to include the Southern Cameroons Crisis on the agenda for discussions. Nothing was done. Former SDF Member of Parliament Hon. Joseph Wirba, one of the first parliamentarians to raise this issue when the conflict was still in its infancy, ended up resigning from the assembly out of sheer exhaustion and threats to his life.

By Oke Akombi Ayukepi Akap in Glasgow with files from Rita Akana

13, April 2021

US officials head to Europe to shore up allied support on Russia, Iran, China ⁰

Top US officials are in Europe this week seeking to shore up allied support on countering Iran and China as well as recent Russian moves at the Ukraine border. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Berlin on his inaugural tour of Europe while Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Brussels on Tuesday for talks on Ukraine and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Nearly a year after President Donald Trump ordered thousands of troops to leave Germany, capping a series of setbacks for U.S. relations with major allies, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began an inaugural tour of Europe to shore up partnerships that are a cornerstone of the post-World War II order.

Austin arrived in Berlin on Monday against the backdrop of a newly emerging crisis with Iran, which on Monday blamed Israel for a recent attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility. Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement, but the attack nonetheless imperils ongoing talks in Europe over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal.

Also at stake in Austin’s visit is the future direction of U.S. defense commitments in Europe at a time of growing concern about Russian military intervention on NATO’s periphery, including a buildup of Russian forces near Ukraine’s border. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was headed to Europe to discuss with U.S. allies the Ukraine situation as well as the administration’s thinking on further withdrawals of troops from Afghanistan.

The United States also seeks European support for its approach to countering China around the world and for efforts to restore an international agreement with limits on Iran’s nuclear program.

Austin arrived in the German capital on Monday night and will hold talks Tuesday with senior government officials. He will also visit NATO headquarters later this week in Belgium and meet with British defense officials in London. He began his trip Sunday in Israel, where he underscored U.S. defense support in meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Austin, a former four-star Army general whose overseas military experience was primarily in Iraq, is likely to assure German officials of intentions by the Biden administration to keep troops in Germany, though the number is subject to discussion as part of a monthslong global review of the basing of U.S. troops. Last year, Trump ordered the number in Germany reduced by about 12,000, to about 24,000.

In his first visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels since taking office, Austin will meet with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who declared on President Joe Biden’s inauguration day that the arrival of a new administration marked “the start of a new chapter for the trans-Atlantic alliance.”

Trump’s departure from the world stage gave the Biden administration an opening to restore a more supportive U.S. approach to Europe and the NATO alliance, but complications will persist. For example, the NATO allies are anxious for Biden to decide whether to pull out of Afghanistan. NATO has more troo ps there than does the United States, and Biden’s indecision troubles them, not least because they count on U.S. military support for removing troops and equipment.

The attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility further complicates U.S. efforts to draw Iran back into a nuclear deal. Austin was asked about this earlier Monday while in Israel, and he said only that he expects the administration’s diplomatic efforts with Iran will continue.

‘Pivot’ to Asia

On the broader horizon, the European allies remain uncertain how their defense and security relationship with the United States will be affected by Biden’s push to focus more on China as the chief threat to U.S. security. That shift in U.S. thinking began during the Obama administration, which announced a “pivot” to Asia that left Europeans thinking their U.S. ally was turning its back. Washington adjusted diplomatically and rhetorically, assuring the Europeans that it was just a “rebalancing.”

Then came Trump. His administration further emphasized China as the prime security threat, but of greater concern to the Europeans was his frequent, sometimes shocking, denigration of the trans-Atlantic partnership that had been the foundation of U.S. security policy for decades. He dismissed the NATO allies as freeloaders, and last summer he ordered the removal of about one-third of the U.S. force in Germany, as well as the move of U.S. European Command headquarters from Germany to Belgium.

“We don’t want to be the suckers anymore,” Trump told reporters last July, calling the Germans ingrates who don’t spend enough on defense but expect the United States to protect them from Russia.

Germany has been an anchor for the U.S. military presence in Europe since the early post-World War II years. In addition to hosting the headquarters for U.S. European and U.S. Africa commands, Germany’s Ramstein Air Base is headquarters for NATO air and missile defenses. The U.S. Army’s largest overseas hospital, the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, is a few miles from Ramstein Air Base. The U.S. Air Force also has a substantial presence in Germany, including the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem.

In his first speech to an international audience, Biden in February declared to the Munich Security Conference: “America is back, the trans-Atlantic alliance is back, and we are not looking backward. We are looking forward together.”

Biden suspended the Trump decision on a partial withdrawal of troops from Germany, which had not yet been implemented. It seems likely the administration will decide not to carry out the Trump order.

Jim Townsend, who served throughout the Obama administration as the Pentagon’s lead policy official on Europe and NATO, said in an interview that he sees lasting value in Austin’s touring of European capitals early in his tenure.

“It’s a better way to repair the torn fabric of that trans-Atlantic relationship,” Townsend said.

Even if the Europeans can put the Trump-era tensions behind them, they will still have questions about the Biden emphasis on China, which is not a front-burner issue for the Europeans. They largely view NATO as a bulwark against Russia, particularly since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its intervention in eastern Ukraine, which is not a NATO member but aspires to join.

(AP)

12, April 2021

88-year-old Biya’s attempts to get his son to replace him is sparking a rebellion (Video) ⁰

Members of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate from the South Region have now been told that the choice of Franck Biya to succeed his father President Biya is mission impossible in the Beti constituency as a planned rally by a prominent administrative officer was boycotted by the elites including traditional rulers.

No one was there to even welcome the governor and the senior divisional officer during the meeting that was supposed to make public the Franck Biya political discourse, according to senior security officials in the South Region.

What followed was a series of drama and uncertainty that included a massive boycott staged by the people of the South Region, a protest statement by the visiting administrative officers and threats of expulsion from the CPDM party.

A video posted online recorded by a senior political elite from the South Region sent cheering crowds into the streets in Ebolowa the chief town in the South Region where thousands are reportedly anticipating the end of the Biya era.

Biya feared, not loved

Cameroon has been touted as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos for many decades, but for some time now, the country has gradually been ranking itself among the most dangerous, corrupt and chaotic countries to live in as descent and frustration spread across the country like wildfire.

Four years ago, the country’s president, Paul Biya, erroneously declared war on the country’s English-speaking minority which was simply demonstrating to bring its sorry plight to the attention of the government and the international community and what Mr. Biya and his collaborators thought would be wrapped up in a week has now lasted four years with more than 7,000 young Cameroonians already sent to an early grave in a war that has no raison d’etre.

As the government and militia have transformed the country into an open air killing field, the country’s economy has taken a nosedive, with millions of Cameroonians seeking employment and thousands losing their jobs in the country’s two English-speaking regions where the killings are going on unabated.

The number of internally displaced person has continued to swell, while millions have fled to neighboring Nigeria where they are living rough and waiting for the fighting to end for them to return to their country, though their homes have been razed by government soldiers who are wont to inflicting collective punishment on the population each time an army soldier is killed.

But it is not only Southern Cameroons that is going through such an apocalypse. The northern part of the country has been the theater of violent confrontations between government troops and Boko Haram fighters who have bombed many civilians into an early grave.

While the government has been active in the North hoping that it could roll back Boko Haram fighters who are believed to come from Nigeria, government forces have succeeded to alienate Northerner due to massive and bloody killings and abuse of the civilian population which now sympathizes with Boko Haram fighters who are sometimes viewed as liberators.

Noted for its corruption, the government has never really sought to address those issues that are really threatening national unity and integration. The North, like many parts of the country, has been neglected, with very little development projects being implemented in that part of the country.

Tribalism and nepotism are really tearing the country apart as most senior government positions are only occupied by the president’s tribesmen and those loyal to him and his ruling crime syndicate known as the CPDM.

However, it is not the government’s nepotism that is the issue but the results it has posted over the last four decades. Cameroonians would not be bothered if those occupying those strategic positions were really delivering desired results.

While across the country the unemployment rate is high, it is a lot higher in the northern region of the country where there are no companies, no roads, no hospitals and no social services and financial assistance that can even cushion the impact of the economic hardship.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

11, April 2021

Chad goes to polls with veteran ruler Deby poised for sixth term ⁰

Chad headed into presidential elections Sunday with Idriss Deby Itno, ruler for the last three decades, set to win a sixth term.

A key ally in the West’s anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel, Deby, 68, is the frontrunner in a six-candidate race without major rivals after a campaign in which demonstrations were banned or dispersed.

Queueing to vote in the capital N’Djamena, a 25-year-old saleswoman named Bernadette told AFP she was voting for Deby because “thanks to him I am free to walk wherever I want, day or night, in total security”.

Polling booths and ballot boxes were arriving progressively in the city, with numerous polling stations visited by AFP failing to open on time.

Police and soldiers were out in force across N’Djamena, with elite troops from the Republican Guard deployed to the central polling station where Deby himself was due to vote, an AFP journalist said.

Chad has struggled with poverty and instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.

A former rebel and career soldier who seized power in a coup in 1990, Deby has twice, with French help, thwarted attempts to oust him.

Other candidates include Albert Pahimi Padacke, a former prime minister under Deby, and Felix Nialbe Romadoumngar — officially “leader of the opposition” as his URD party has eight seats in the National Assembly.

Lydie Beassemda, a former agriculture minister, is the first woman to run for president in Chad’s history.

She is pitching her campaign on federalism, in a country where ethnic rivalry is common, and on women’s rights, in a culture where patriarchal domination is entrenched.

But seven other candidates were rejected by the Supreme Court and three withdrew, including longtime opposition politician Saleh Kebzabo, who quit in protest over violence by the security forces.

Soldiers killed in Lake Chad ambush

Deby has campaigned on a promise of peace and security in a region that has been rocked by jihadist insurgencies.

Two Chadian soldiers were killed Thursday in an ambush in the Lake Chad region, where Islamist extremists have been increasingly attacking civilians and security forces, Communications Minister Cherif Mahamat Zene told AFP on Sunday.

Provisional results from the elections are scheduled for April 25, with the final results due on May 15.

With Deby set for victory, the major question mark is over turnout.

Deby urged voters at his final rally on Friday to “turn out massively”, but many residents have voiced disinterest in an election whose outcome already appears certain.

Some 7.3 million people are eligible to vote out of a population of 15 million, but the most critical opposition parties have urged voters to boycott the election.

Weekly protest marches urging a peaceful transfer of power have been banned or forcefully dispersed.

On February 28, police and soldiers carried out a commando-style raid on the home of a prominent would-be candidate, Yaya Dillo Djerou. His mother was among at least three people killed, and he is now on the run.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres are among those who have voiced criticism.

US watching

The United States on Thursday urged Chad’s election supervisors and courts “to ensure these elections are conducted freely, fairly, and transparently”.

“We’ll be watching in the days ahead,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price warned.

Deby has also benefited, as previously, from divisions and weaknesses within opposition ranks.

Francois Djekombe, president of the opposition Sacred Union for the Republic, said efforts to mobilise the public had been weakened by internal squabbles, poor leadership and inadequate communications.

“Let us humbly acknowledge that we have failed,” he said ahead of polling day. “It’s clear that people don’t want the popular revolt that we tried to impose.”

Kelma Manatouma, a Chad expert at the University of Paris-Nanterre, said that “with the considerable means Deby has mobilised, it is certain he will win.”

Chad has been an oil producer since 2003, but it remains deeply poor.

In 2018, 42 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. In 2020, Chad ranked 187th out of 189 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index.

(AFP)