Chadian opposition leader, Masra says he has filed an appeal with the country’s constitutional council to question the preliminary results of the May 6 presidential election.
Succès Masra tweeted a photo of a receipt indicating that documents had been filed with the council on social media Sunday.
The preliminary election results showed President Mahamat Deby Itno winning with slightly more than 61% of the vote, while runner-up Masra received more than 18.5%.
Masra, the prime minister of Chad’s transitional administration, declared victory just before the announcement and accused the election results of being falsified.
Rakimdon Jacques Houitouto, a Chad-based human rights law specialist, told The Associated Press that if the constitutional council believes Masra’s case is compelling, it will consider cancelling the results.
It was unclear when the council would decide on the claim.
Chad held a long-awaited election after three years of military administration.
Analysts overwhelmingly expected the incumbent to win. Deby Itno, also known as Mahamat Idriss Deby, took power when his father, who had been in power for three decades, was killed fighting rebels in 2021.
The oil-exporting country of roughly 18 million inhabitants has not witnessed a democratic transfer of power since gaining independence in 1960 after decades of French colonial control.
Masra, the head of the Transformers opposition party, departed Chad in October 2022.
In response to protests against Deby Itno’s plan to extend his term in power by two years, the military administration suspended his party and six others.
More than 60 people were killed during the protests, which the government described as “an attempted coup.”
An agreement between the country’s minister of reconciliation and Masra’s political party late last year allowed the exiled politician and other opposition figures to return to Chad.
He was later appointed prime minister.
