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Chad - Political Parties

Any tribe in Chad had a political party, and this behavior will certainly lead to the practice of political tribalism and tribal fanaticism and other flaws that lead to the destruction of society. And democracy loses its content. Chadian political history was full of a number of political changes that were stained with blood, despite the practice of democracy in it, and when following the political steps since independence, multiple laws were put in place to manage the affairs of the country, and the participation of political parties. The visions, goals, and programs of the parties were limited to achieving tribal and partisan gains.

Most Chadian political parties were limited in their activity except during the election period. Weak public awareness made the base lose its ability to participate positively in political and institutional work, and to bear its responsibility in imposing social control over the practices of leaders and parties, which helped to monopolize power and influence.

It was difficult to assess the true development of political thought in Chad, and it was also not easy to trace the early origins of political parties there accurately. However, sources say that modern political life in Chad began with the elections for the first French National Constituent Assembly, which were held on 21/1/1945, in implementation of the recommendations of the Brazzaville Conference of 1944. As a result, political parties in Chad, especially those that appeared in the period between 1945-1958, were branches of the main French parties. But they began to be colored to a large extent by local tribal loyalty, and their politics were linked to the structure and personal orientation of their leaders, which made them tend at first to use violent means more than focusing on modern political activity and goals that serve the national interest.

The authoritarian one-party system was an embodiment of the democracy of domination and control, the consecration of corruption and political tyranny, and the policies of oppression and material coercion that made it fiefdoms that reproduced at the expense of the concepts of justice, freedom and equality, and tools for confiscating them by preventing expression and participation, and liquidating the components of civil society or integrating them into state institutions.

The multiparty system was suspended in Chad from 1963 to 1990. It was restored following the demise of Hissène Habré’s rule and Idriss Déby’s rise to power. The law 019/PR/2009, known as the Political Parties Charter, states in Article 4 that political parties shall be freely established and shall conduct their activities in compliance with the prevailing rules and regulations. These requirements include: respect of national sovereignty, the integrity of the national territory, national unity and democratic pluralism. Article 4 of the Charter in fact mirrors Article 4 of the Constitution which guarantees legally established political organizations the freedom to conduct their activities.

The freedom to create parties led to a proliferation of political parties following the restoration of the multiparty system, on December 1, 1990. This led to the adoption of several regulations aimed at preventing the creation of frivolous parties. The creation of political parties was rigorously structured until 1992 when an ordinance liberalized the process and it became common to see parties without popular support or platforms, created by a single founding member who wished to receive benefits from the state.

Chad’s political arena was crowded with multiple political parties. President Déby Itno’s Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) was aligned with approximately 60 parties. The Coordination des Partis Politiques pour la Défense de la Constitution (CPDC), an umbrella group for opposition parties, had a membership in 2015 of approximately 35 parties, and approximately 10 independent parties were also registered and recognized.

There were approximately 78 registered political parties in the country in 2015. Parties allied with the government generally received favorable treatment. Opposition political leaders accused the government of co-opting their most popular local politicians to run as MPS members in local elections and alleged intimidation by the military of party members who refused to cooperate. Northerners, particularly members of the Zaghawa ethnic group, including the Bideyat subclan to which the president belongs, continued to dominate the public sector and were overrepresented in key institutions of state power, including the military officer corps, elite military units, and the presidential staff.

When the United Front for Change (Front Uni pour le changement, FUC) was founded at the end of December 2005, it was led by Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim. The FUC as a coalition that brought together eight rebel factions: The eight groups included: RDL [Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et la Liberté (Rally for Democracy and Freedom)], SCUD [Socle pour le Changement, l'Unité nationale et la Démocratie (Platform for Change, Unity and Democracy)], CNT [Concorde Nationale du Tchad (Chadian National Concord Movement)], FNTR (Front Nationale pour le Tchad Rénové, National Front for the Renewal of Chad), CNR (Conseil National pour le Redressement, National Council for Recovery), FRRRT (Force pour le Ratissage, le Regroupement et le Redressement du Tchad, Force for the Cleansing, Reunification and Resurgence of Chad), Groupe du 8 Décembre, and FIDL. FUC was originally known as the Front Uni pour le Changement Démocratique au Tchad, FUCD (United Front for Democratic Change in Chad).

The personality of Mahamat Nour, the leader chosen by the Sudanese at that time, the power of regional bodies and the ambitions of certain lieutenants, led to the FUC’s breakdown” by December 2007. Following the attempted coup of April 2006, Ahmat Yacoub, advisor, founder and former secretary general of the FNTR indicated that there was “divisiveness between Nour and several elements.” Mahamat Béchir, deputy foreign representative, resigned from the FUC on 30 July 2006. Albissaty Saleh Allazam, coalition spokesperson, called for the leader’s resignation. In addition, denying Ahmat Yacoub’s allegations pointing to the withdrawal of the CNT from the FUC, Allazam stated that “the only group that withdrew from the coalition was Mahamat Nour’s RDL”.

Dissident members of the FUC formed a new group under the same name, led by Abderman Koulamallah. However, according to a March 2007 report by Roy May and Simon Massey, published by Writenet, a network of researchers and writers on human rights, forced migration, and ethnic and political conflict, the FUC witnessed the formation of a second and much more [translation] “political” group of the same name, led by Abdelwahid Aboud Makay (or Makaye). May and Massey add that other FUC members have returned to the Rally of Democratic Forces (Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques, RAFD) (Mar. 2007).

HRW states that the dissident faction of the FUC reportedly led by Abdelwahid Aboud Makaye rejoined the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (Union des Forces pour la Démocratie et le Développement, UFDD) in 2006 after signing the 24 December 2006 peace agreement with the Chadian government, which officially disbanded the FUC.

By the 2011 election, there were 143 political parties in Chad. It was very difficult to differentiate between parties due to the large number which arose from the liberalization of party formation. The large number of parties led to a number of alliances or coalitions of political parties with different outcomes.

In the ruling presidential coalition, the main political force was the Mouvement Patriotique du Salut (MPS) which had dominated Chad’s political life since 1990. It had 134 Members at the 2011 National Assembly. It had about 100 additional parties related to it, the most significant of which are, Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et le Progrès (RDP), created by the former President, Lol Mahamat Choua ( President for two months before Goukouni Wedeye’s rise to power), this party had 8 Members at the 2011 National Assembly ; Rassemblement des Nationalistes et Démocrates Tchadiens (RNDT-Le Réveil), created by Pahimi Padacke Albert, which had 8 Members at the 2011 National Assembly ; Rassemblement National pour la Démocratie et le Progrès (Viva RNDP) created by the former Prime Minister Nouredine Delwa Kassire Coumakoye which had 4 Members at the 2011 National Assembly.

It should be noted that since its last congress, the MPS had to become more internally focused, distancing itself from its allies. Delegates of the Congress recommended that the MPS assume its role before the Chadian people and rid itself from allies that hinder its visibility rather than bringing true support. As a result, in the last cabinet reshuffle many allies lost their positions and were replaced by senior members of the ruling party. It was also noted that the Baminists (a name referring to the area in Sudan where the party was created) had reassumed control over the party. The term Baminist, which had become trendy recently, designates the original founding members of the MPS. They were now all members of the highest bodies of the party, especially its leading organ, the National Political Committee.

There were a few parties in the 2011 opposition. First of all, the Union Nationale pour le Développement et le Renouveau (UNDR) which had 10 seats at the 2011 National Assembly. It leader, Saleh Kebzabo was the Head of the country’s democratic opposition on the basis of the provisions of the law defining the status of the opposition and which confers this title to the opposition party with the largest number of members at the 2011 National Assembly. This was also the reason why he was the main target of the ruling party. His party was one of the best organized and had suffered very little from the dissidence of senior party members, unlike many other opposition parties.

Second was the Union pour le Renouveau et la Démocratie (URD) which had 8 members at the 2011 National Assembly. This party was created and led by one of the icons of Chad’s political life, General Wadal Abdelkader Kamougue. It was the only party that succeeded in bringing President Déby to a runoff in the 1996 presidential elections, Since Kamougue’s death in 2011, the party had been undermined by infighting amongst the leadership. One of the sons of the late president Kamougue was entrusted with the party’s leadership during its last congress.

There was also the Fédération Action pour la République/Parti Fédéraliste (FAR/PF) led by Yorongar Ngarlejy Lemoiban which had 4 Members at the 2011 National Assembly. He was certainly the most virulent of all political opponents. In 2001, his party, which called for federalism, captured the hope of many voters before losing momentum due to the defection of many senior members, and a lack of organization.

Next to these parties, there were others such as the Parti pour les Libertés et le Développement which was led by Ibni Oumar. An opposition leader who disappeared following the events of January 28 to February 3, 2008; the circumstances of his disappearance remain unknown, despite the investigations of a committee created to elucidate the matter; he was a consensus figure in the opposition and was the its spokesperson. There was also the Union des Forces Démocratiques/Parti Républicain led by Gali Gata Gote. Each of these two parties had one Member at the 2011 National Assembly.

It should be noted that several political parties founded and led by young people made remarkable breakthroughs in the last legislative elections, held in 2011. This was the case of the Parti pour la Démocratie et le Socialisme en Afrique (PDSA) which won two seats at the 2011 National Assembly ; The Mouvement des Patriotes Tchadiens pour la République (MPTR) and Souffle Nouveau pour la République (SONOR) each of which won one seat at the 2011 National Assembly. These young parties continued to make their presence known as they seek to make young people weigh in on the political debate.

Following his father’s death at the hands of rebels in May 2021, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, 40, seized power, despite loud calls for elections from opposition parties. The military disbanded parliament and put a one-year Transitional Military Council in place, headed by Deby. In October 2022, the leader disappointed many Chadians when he extended the transition period to 2024. Thousands, especially youth, took to the streets in protest, but security forces opened fire on them, killing more than 100 people. Succes Masra, the young leader of the opposition Transformers Party, was at the forefront of the protests. Masra fled to the United States following the killings.

Chadians voted 29 December 2024 in parliamentary, regional and municipal elections for the first time in more than a decade, continuing the former military-turned-civilian government’s push to put the Central African country on a democratic path. But opposition party members were sceptical. Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) was led by agricultural expert and former Prime Minister Haroun Kabadi, who headed the Transitional Council, the MPS was the governing party. It was founded by former President Deby Itno and current President Deny was a “honorary president”. MPS had controlled parliament since 1996. Before the Transitional Council was put in place in 2021, the party was in a coalition government with the allied Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and National Rally for Democracy and Progress (RNDP) and controlled 134 parliament seats.

National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR) led by politician Saleh Kebzabo, was one of the main opposition coalitions against the rule of former President Deby Itno. The current president appointed Kebzabo as prime minister from 2022-2024. The party controlled 10 seats until 2021. National Rally of Chadian Democrats (RNDT) was once allied in a ruling coalition with the MPS. RNDT was largely seen as a “semi-opposition” group. It’s led by former Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke (2021- 2022). Padacke competed in the May presidential elections and won 16.9 percent of the votes. RNDT controlled eight seats in parliament until 2021.

Some opposition parties, including Masra’s Transformers, Group of the Cooperation of Political Actors (GCAP), and more than 10 others, were not participating in the vote in protest, and have been distributing flyers to people to encourage them not to vote.