Chad Lawmakers Move on Bill Allowing Unlimited Presidential Terms
Lawmakers in Chad have fast-tracked a proposal to allow the president to serve an unlimited number of terms, in a move that the opposition warns opens the door to authoritarianism. The vote means that Chad’s constitution will be amended to extend the president’s term from five to seven years, renewable without limit. Both houses approved the measure ten days earlier than scheduled.
The Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) of President Mahamat Idriss Déby proposed the reform after the death of his father, long-serving president Idriss Déby Itno, in 2021. The party’s sizeable majority in parliament enabled it to pass the amendment by 236 to 257, a result it called “an unprecedented political and social consensus”. Some 21 members of the opposition walked out of the vote in protest. Opposition figures, including Albert Pahimi Padacké and Robert Gam, accused the government of bypassing legislators, denying the public a referendum, and steering the country toward dynastic rule; they warned the changes would deepen authoritarianism.
The amendments also increased parliamentary terms to six years, established a deputy prime minister post, and removed immunity for government members, prompting a promise from the opposition to resist.
