N’Djamena — Lawmakers in Chad on Tuesday approved a sweeping constitutional amendment that replaces the country’s five-year presidential term—previously renewable once—with a seven-year mandate with no cap on re-election, a move critics say cements President Mahamat Idriss Déby’s hold on power.
The measure, introduced by Déby’s ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), passed by 236 votes in the 257-seat chamber. Several opposition deputies boycotted the session and members of the National Rally of Chadian Democrats staged a walkout before the vote.
Opposition figure Albert Pahimi Padacké denounced the overhaul as “unconstitutional and authoritarian,” underscoring a widening gulf between the presidency and its opponents. The amendment also extends parliamentary terms and reinstates immunity for government officials, provisions opponents argue will weaken checks and balances and shield elites from accountability.
While the government says the changes will take effect at the next presidential election, detractors contend the longer mandate effectively grants Déby two additional years in power immediately, by aligning institutional calendars and delaying electoral turnover.
Déby, who assumed leadership in 2021 after the battlefield death of his father, longtime ruler Idriss Déby Itno, won a disputed presidential poll in May 2024 that opposition parties and civil society groups said was marred by irregularities and repression. The main opposition party, The Transformers, has called recent elections a “resounding failure.” Its leader, Succès Masra, one of Déby’s most prominent critics, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in August, a judgment his lawyers described as politically motivated.
Supporters of the reform argue that longer, open-ended presidential terms will promote stability and policy continuity in a country confronting cross-border insecurity, economic headwinds, and humanitarian pressures in the Sahel. The opposition warns the package represents a rollback of democratic safeguards, concentrating authority in the executive and eroding prospects for a credible transition to fully civilian rule.
The parliamentary walkout and boycott highlight the strained political climate following the transition and contested ballots. Rights advocates say the combination of indefinite re-election, extended legislative mandates, and restored official immunity risks entrenching a dominant-party system and narrowing space for dissent.
With the reform now adopted, attention shifts to the electoral timetable, the composition and independence of election management bodies, and whether the government will open dialogue with opposition groups and civil society to ease tensions. For now, Tuesday’s vote signals a decisive consolidation of power by the presidency—and sets the stage for a far more contentious political landscape ahead of the next national polls.
