Political system
According to the 1996 Constitution, Chad is a republic with multi-party systems. The president is head of state and commander-in-chief and has great powers. In the spring of 2018, a series of constitutional amendments were adopted that further strengthened the presidential power. Since President Idriss Déby took power in the early 1990s, his zagawa people group from northeastern Chad has dominated the army leadership, the government and the state administration. Déby’s regime has met armed resistance from a number of rebel groups.
Since the spring of 2018, the president is elected in general elections for a six-year term and may be re-elected at most once. Previously, the term of office was five years and the president could be re-elected an unlimited number of times.
- Countryaah: Total population and chart of Chad for years of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Also covers population density, birth rate, death rate and population growth rates.
The president appoints all ministers in the government. In connection with the constitutional amendments 2018, the Prime Minister’s post and the Vice President were abolished. The president also has influence over the appointment of judges, generals and senior executives within the state corporations.
The legislative power lies with Parliament, the National Assembly, which has 188 members. According to the Constitution, general elections to Parliament are to be held every four years, but the last election was held in 2011. Thereafter, the election date has been postponed several times, including the reason that the country cannot afford to arrange elections.
Short for CD by Abbreviationfinder, Chad is a colonial creation, where the residents feel more loyalty with their family and people than with the nation. Since a long time, there are contradictions between Muslim, Arab-linked, often nomadic groups in the north and agricultural Bantu people, often Christians, in the south.
Since President Idriss Déby took power in 1990, his zagawa people group from northeastern Chad has dominated both the army leadership as well as the government and state administration. Alternatively, other people from the north or Muslims are favored. The Christians in the South and other non-Muslims are in principle excluded from higher positions.
Political parties
President Déby’s party The Patriotic Rescue Movement (Mouvement patriotique de salut, MPS) is the country’s dominant party and the only one that has a national reach. MPS was formed by Déby in 1990 when he overthrew the then dictator Hissène Habré (see Modern History). The party has the strongest support in eastern and northern Chad. A membership in MPS opens the way to resources, jobs and other government assignments.
The opposition, which has its base in the south, is fragmented and weak. It lacks resources to seriously challenge MPS. The few opposition politicians who dare to fight the government are under threat. Major opposition parties are the National Union for Development and Renewal (Union National pour le dévéloppement et le renouveau, UNDR) and the Union for renewal and democracy (Union pour le renouveau et democratie, URD). The Action Front of the Republic (Fédération action pour la republic, FAR) wants increased autonomy in the south. The largest of these parties is UNDR.
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, the opposition agreed in an alliance called the New Front for Change (Front de l’opposition nouvelle pour l’alternance et le change, Fonac). The alliance was formed as an attempt to prevent President Déby from being re-elected to a fifth term in office. One of the alliance’s front figures was UNDR leader Saleh Kebzabo, who stood in the election against Déby but lost.
