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Chad

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

August 2025

Opposition leader Succès Masra receives 20-year prison sentence

On 9 August, the High Court of N’Djamena sentenced opposition leader and former Prime Minister Succès Masra to 20 years in prison, following his conviction for complicity in murder and disseminating hateful and xenophobic messages in proceedings widely perceived to be politically motivated. The convictions relate to deadly intercommunal violence that took place in southwest Chad in May 2025, which prosecutors alleged was triggered by an audio recording of Masra calling for farmers to arm themselves against herder communities. Masra, who denies all the charges against him, says the recording was from 2023 and that he had simply called on the farmers to form self-defence groups. His lawyers criticised the state for a lack of evidence against their client and commentators also raised due process concerns. Masra was tried alongside the perpetrators of the violence and in addition to custodial sentences, they were collectively fined CFA francs 1 billion (approximately US$1.8 million). 

Sources: Jeune Afrique, Deutsche Welle, The Conversation, Human Rights Watch, International IDEA

May 2025

Chad detains opposition leader Succès Masra
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On 16 May, Chadian authorities arrested the leader of the opposition Transformers (Les Transformateurs) party and former Prime Minister, Succès Masra, as part of an investigation into recent intercommunal violence between farming and herding communities in the southwest of the country. Prosecutors alleged that the violence was triggered by an audio recording of Masra urging farmers in the affected village to arm themselves and he was charged with incitement to hatred and revolt, complicity in murder and the desecration of graves. On 21 May, he was placed in pre-trial detention. Masra denies the charges against him, saying the recording is two years old and that in it he had simply called on the farmers to form self-defence groups. The opposition leader is a fierce critic of President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno and his lawyers and party allege the prosecution is politically motivated. His arrest followed a resumption of his opposition activities in the country’s capital, N'Djamena.

Sources: ReutersInternational Crisis GroupJeune Afrique (1)Jeune Afrique (2)

March 2025

Journalists detained over ‘collusion’ with Wagner

Three journalists in Chad were arrested and detained in March on charges of working with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and reportedly face up to 30 years in prison. The prosecutor’s office said the three journalists, who work for different media outlets, had provided Russia with information about Chad that was likely to harm the country’s military and economic interests. News reports suggested that the arrest of one of the journalists, Olivier Mbaindinguim Monodji, may be connected to an article he wrote on the inauguration of a Russian cultural institute in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, and that another, Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, has been accused of translating Russian files on the economic and security situation in the Sahel. The Union of Chadian Journalists (L'Union des Journalistes Tchadiens, UJT) and other rights organisations criticised the detentions as arbitrary. 

Sources: Jeune Afrique, Agence France-Presse, International Federation of Journalists, The Africa Report  

February 2025

Ruling party wins first senatorial elections
Election flag

Chad held indirect Senatorial elections on 25 February, which were the first in its history and were won by President Mahamat Déby’s ruling party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement Patriotique du Salut, MPS). According to official results, MPS secured 43 of the 46 elected seats in the Senate, the remaining three seats were won by the National Rally of Chadian Democrats (Rassemblement national des démocrates Tchadiens - le Réveil, RNDT–Le Réveil) (two seats) and the Union for Renewal and Democracy (Union pour le renouveau et la démocratie, URD) (one seat), respectively. Several opposition parties boycotted the election, claiming that it would not be credible. The senators were elected by an electoral college of municipal and provincial counsellors. A further 23 senators were appointed by President Déby on 4 March, most of which came from MPS. Twenty five of the 69 senators (36.2 per cent) are women, in conformity with a gender quota target of 30 per cent. Chad’s new bicameral parliament was established by a 2020 constitutional reform and later confirmed by the 2023 constitution. The elections formally end the country’s transition to democracy that began after the 2021 unconstitutional change of government that first brought Déby to power. He was subsequently elected President in May 2024.

Sources: Radio France Internationale, Associated Press News, Agence Presse Africaine, International IDEA, Africa 24, Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, Barron's     

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2024

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Representation
141/173
Rights
159/173
Rule of Law
167/173
Participation
138/173

Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
19 319 064
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Allamaye Halina (since 2024)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
First Past the Post, Party Block Vote, List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
26.1%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2024
Head of state
President Mahamat Déby
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
30/01/2024
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
95.87%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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