| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 13 February 2011
6 May 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the National Assembly. |
The February 2011 parliamentary elections were the first to be held since 2002. At stake were 188 seats (up from 155) in the National Assembly.
In the previous elections held in April 2002, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) - led by President Idriss Deby, who had seized power in a coup in 1990 - took 113 of the 155 seats. Among the opposition parties that won parliamentary representation, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and the Front of Action Forces for the Republic (FAR) took 10 seats each, the National Rally for Development and Progress (Viva-RNDP) and the National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR) took five seats each while the Union for Renewal and Democracy (URD) took three. Another nine parties took one seat each.
The term of the outgoing members of the National Assembly was officially due to end in June 2006. However, it was successively extended until 2011, to agree on the conditions under which new parliamentary elections would be held.
In August 2007, after six months of negotiations mediated by the European Union, the government and the Coordination for the Defence of the Constitution (CPDC) - an opposition alliance formed in 2005, which comprised some 20 parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties by then - agreed to postpone the elections from December 2007 to 2009. The agreement also provided for the creation of a new independent national election commission (CENI, composed of an equal number of government and opposition members) and a new national census to prepare computerized and tamper-proof electoral lists and biometric voters' cards with a view to preventing electoral fraud. Among the major opposition forces, only the FAR did not sign the agreement. FAR leader Ngarlejy Yorongar had insisted that the agreement should also include opposition parties in exile, rebels and civil society.
The 2007 agreement stipulated that the CPDC would participate in the management of public affairs until the new elections. In April 2008, President Deby appointed his diplomatic adviser, Mr. Youssouf Saleh Abbas, as the new Prime Minister. Mr. Abbas' government comprised four members of the CPDC. RDP leader Lol Mahamat Choua was appointed to head a committee to oversee implementation of the agreement. The CENI was established in July 2009 with a view to holding parliamentary and presidential elections in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
In January 2010, the CENI announced that parliamentary elections would be held on 28 November 2010, to be followed by the first round of the presidential elections on 23 April 2011. Over 4.8 million people were registered to vote out of the country's 11 million inhabitants.
In September, the CPDC threatened to boycott the parliamentary elections unless they were guaranteed access to media coverage during the election campaign. On 27 September 2010, the CENI announced that it would postpone the parliamentary elections to February 2011. It cited difficulties with preparations and delays in the distribution of election material. The elections were subsequently set for 6 February 2011. In December, President Deby, at the opposition's request, agreed to replace the chief of the CENI. Consequently on 13 January 2011 the CENI announced that elections would be put back to 13 February.
On 26 January, the MPS officially launched an electoral alliance called the Alliance for the Renaissance of Chad with two parties in the CPDC: Mr. Choua's RDP and the Viva-RNDP of former prime minister Kassiré Coumakoye. In addition to their own candidates, the parties in the alliance fielded a few joint candidates.
In all, 1,409 candidates, including 145 women, were vying for seats in the National Assembly. Only the MPS fielded candidates in all constituencies. Other parties in the CPDC - the URD, led by Defence Minister Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, and the UNDR of Mr. Saleh Kebzabo - fielded a dozen candidates respectively.
The MPS was the only party to organize a nationwide election campaign. MPS Secretary General, Mr. Haroun Kabadi, called on voters' support for the MPS-led Alliance to advance the country and bring about a genuine renaissance. The RDP pledged to make Chad "a new, friendly and peaceful country". RDP leader Choua argued that President Deby had changed and the RDP would support the President's ambitions for the country. Viva-RNDP leader Coumakoye urged his party's supporters to vote for the Alliance, claiming that it would give the Viva-RNDP a chance to participate in the government and thereby consolidate democracy.
The opposition forces, including the CPDC, struggled to gain visibility during the election campaign. The CPDC accused the government of using the oil revenue (115,000 barrels per day are produced in Chad) to fund the military instead of investing it to promote development and combat poverty. It sought to double the presence of opposition forces in the newly elected legislature.
In all, 62.56 per cent of the 4.8 million registered voters turned out at the polls. Voting took place without any major incident. URD leader Kamougué claimed voting irregularities, including the use of fake identity cards and ballot box-stuffing.
Observers from the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) monitored the elections. The EU, while noting logistical hitches, praised the peaceful elections and termed them a historic turning point for the country.
On 22 March 2011, the Constitutional Council validated the results for 175 of the 188 seats. Fresh elections were held for the remaining 13 seats on 6 May. On 9 May, URD leader Kamougué passed away.
The final results gave 117 seats to the MPS. Its allies - the RDP and the Viva-RNDP - took additional 14 seats. Among the opposition parties, the UNDR came in first with ten seats. The URD and the FAR took eight and four seats respectively. The remainder went to 19 small parties which took one seat each. In all, 24 women were elected.
On 23 June, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Haroun Kabadi (MPS) as its Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 13 February 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
4'830'885
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Election of 13 Feb. |
Election of 6 May |
|
|
| Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) |
117
|
113 |
4 |
|
|
| Others |
19
|
17 |
2 |
|
|
| National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR) |
10
|
9 |
1 |
|
|
| Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) |
9
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
| Union for Renewal and Democracy (URD) |
8
|
7 |
1 |
|
|
| Rally of Chadian Nationalists/Awakening (RNDT/ Le Réveil) |
8
|
7 |
1 |
|
|
| National Rally for Development and Progress (Viva-RNDP) |
5
|
4 |
1 |
|
|
| Front of Action Forces for the Republic (FAR) |
4
|
3 |
1 |
|
|
| Party for Unity and Reconstruction (PUR) |
2
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
| Union for Democracy and the Republic (UDR) |
2
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party for a Change-over of Power (PDSA) |
2
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
| Chadian Convention for Peace and Development (CTPD) |
2
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
164
24
12.77%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source: National Assembly (06.04.2011, 01.06.2011, 23.06.2011, 22.10.2012)
The section "Others" above comprises the following 19 parties which won one seat each:
1. PPJE
2. Chadian Democratic Union (UDT)
3. Movement for Democracy and Socialism in Chad (MDST)
4. AL NASSOUR
5. National Alliance for Democracy and Development (AND)
6. Party for Democracy and Full Independence (PDI)
7. National Alliance for Democracy and Development (AND/R)
8. African Party for Peace and Justice (PAP/JS)
9. New Breath of Air for the Republic (SONOR)
10. RAPAD
11. Union of Democratic Forces - Republican Party (UFD/PR)
12. Union of Chadian Environmentalists/The Greens (UET/V)
13. Party for Freedoms and Development (PLD)
14. ALWASSAT
15. Action for the Renewal of Chad (ART)
16. Movement of Chadian Patriots for the Republic (MPTR)
17. Movement for the Peace and Development of Chad (MPDT)
18. PDPT (the seat filled in the partial election of 6 May 2011.)
19. USND (idem.) |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
