In a statement released Thursday evening, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington welcomes “the milestones in Chad’s transition process including the election and talks with insurgents.”
Miller said the U.S. urges Deby’s administration “to work with all stakeholders — especially political parties and civil society organizations — to address any concerns with this election and strengthen the inclusivity and transparency of Chad’s institutional framework for future elections."
The State Department spokesperson also noted that Chad’s elections had "troubling shortcomings."
FILE — U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department on July 18, 2023, in Washington.
Prior to the release of Miller’s statement, Molly Phee, the top State Department official for Africa, this week addressed a congressional hearing where she said Washington looks to hold post-election talks with Chad.
While Washington called on Deby to consider an inclusive government, some opposition figures maintain that Chad’s military leader and president-elect won the vote undemocratically.
Success Masra, an opposition candidate who came second in the polls and served as Chad’s prime minister under Deby’s military transitional government, addressed his supporters on Thursday, soon after the nation’s constitutional council finalized the elections. He maintained the polls did not reflect “the will of the people,” but asked that his supporters remain peaceful.
The former prime minister and other Chadian opposition candidates on Monday lodged an appeal with the nation’s constitutional council to challenge preliminary results released last week that favored Deby.
SEE ALSO: Former Chadian PM calls on Constitutional Council to have recent vote annulledMasra, the Transformers Party candidate, last week claimed victory before the announcement of preliminary results and alleged that vote rigging was being planned, allegations denied by Deby.
While declaring Deby’s victory on Thursday, the constitutional council dismissed the opposition’s allegations of electoral fraud, ruling they lacked sufficient evidence.
Speaking to VOA, Ndolembai Njesada, the vice president for Political Affairs and the Diaspora under Masra’s Transformers Party, said they “exhausted all legal” options.
Njesada said the Transformers are now prioritizing winning in Chad’s coming legislative elections.
“We believe that we are the most popular party,” he said expressing confidence that they would win.
Deby's victory marked the end of a three-year transitional period to civilian rule. It also prolonged his family’s rule, which has had a firm grip on power since his father took over in a coup in the early 1990s. His father, President Idriss Deby, was wounded and died in 2021 while observing army operations against rebel forces.
VOA's James Butty contributed to this report. Some information was sourced from Agence France-Presse.