Chad holds a presidential election after years of military rule

By EDOUARD TAKADJI and MOUTA ALI
Associated Press

N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Voters in Chad have headed to the polls to cast their ballots in a long delayed presidential election that is set to end three years of military rule under the interim president. Mahamat Deby Itno seized power after his father who ran the country for more than three decades was killed fighting rebels in 2021. The oil-exporting country of nearly 18 million people hasn’t had a free-and-fair transfer of power since it became independent in 1960 after decades of French colonial rule. Chad is seen by the U.S. and France as one of the last remaining stable allies in the Sahel region following military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in recent years.