Stability before democracy when the president of Chad is buried

President Debbie is dead, long live President Deby. It is not uncommon for a head of state to be fatally wounded in a frontline battle and for his son to take power within 24 hours, but this happened in Chad this week.

Elderly despot Idriss Déby, who has ruled Chad for more than 30 years, has visited troops in the Kanem region, where there is a fight with rebels who have started an uprising on the border with Libya in the north. Deby, a former soldier who himself seized power through an armed revolt, has conducted similar inspections on several occasions, but this visit will be his last.

It is said that he was wounded in a battle In the village of Meli, outside the city of Nuku, and was evacuated to the capital, N’Djamena, 300 km to the south, where he succumbed to his wounds. He was 68 years old and was buried according to Islamic tradition on Friday.

The death occurred at the same time that Déby was chosen as the winner in this year’s election, which was held on April 11, but was boycotted by most prominent opposition politicians. According to the constitution, the speaker of the House of Representatives assumes power in the event of the death of the president.

But instead it rose A military transition council in the appointment of President Mohamed Idriss Déby’s son as the new head of state during an 18-month transitional period that will lead to new elections. Army General Mohamed Déby is 37 years old, and by the way, he is about the same age as his father when he took power a little over 30 years ago.

So there is no question of a democratic change of power, even with the military She stated that she does not intend to take power permanent. The situation that has arisen could have provided an opportunity for a rerun of the critical elections this year. This is also what the FACT rebels say they want to achieve. The movement said in a statement that it intends to continue marching towards the capital “to liberate the population from an undemocratic regime.” The opposition is protesting against what they call an “institutional coup”.

Otherwise, the reactions were mild. Ex-French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to the funeral, as well as European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell and a number of regional leaders. French Foreign Minister He said he was very concerned about the situation On French television, he spoke about the importance of “vigilance of stability” in the region.

The cause of democracy The transformation is not a top priority. The country has become indispensable for operations against Islamists in the central parts of the inner coast of West Africa. There are more than 5,000 French soldiers in the area, 1,000 of them are stationed in N’Djamena, which is also a base for French Mirage fighter jets. These were used in conjunction with drones Late 2019 To bring down a revolution in the north.

Chad is also contributing 1,200 soldiers to a regional operation against Islamist armed groups, and if they withdraw, military operations could be immediately threatened.

So it is unlikely that you will hear any major protests from France. Or from regional bodies Like the African Union or the West African Cooperation Bloc ECOWAS on this matter, despite the fact that on paper the organizations have zero tolerance for military coups.

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Chadian President Déby is said to have been killed on the front line