Chad’s parliament on Friday overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment scrapping presidential term limits, in a move condemned by opponents of President Mahamat Deby.
President Mahamat Deby was first made transitional president by army generals in 2021 after rebels killed his father, Idriss Deby Itno, in a gun battle, ending his 30 years in power in the impoverished central African nation.
Deby was then elected head of state in May 2024 for five years, in a contested vote boycotted by a majority of opposition parties.
Friday’s parliamentary vote for the constitutional reform, presented by Deby’s Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), saw 236 of the 257 lawmakers in Chad’s parliament back the move, with no votes against.
Max Kemkoye, a spokesman for the opposition platform Group of Political Actors Consultation, told AFP: “There is no longer any difference between the MPS and the republic.”