Chad poll opens

2006-05-03 09:27

N'Djamena - Polling stations opened in Chad at 07:00 on Wednesday for a controversial presidential election that incumbent Idriss Deby Itno, in power since 1990, is expected to win.

Vote counting was expected to begin on Wednesday evening after the close of polling stations at 18:00 but the first official results will not be made public until May 14. A second round of voting could be held on June 8.

Around 5.8 million of Chad's 8.8 million people are eligible to vote in the election, which rebels have promised to disrupt.

Voters have five candidates to choose from, including Deby, but the main opposition figures are boycotting the vote, claiming it will not be free and fair.

Deby, 54, a former rebel leader who seized power in 1990, was elected in 1996 after introducing a multi-party system and reelected five years later in a poll that was criticised by the opposition but not boycotted by it.

The main opposition coalition had called for the postponement of Wednesday's vote, as had civic groups, Chadian bishops, the African Union and the United States in more or less veiled terms.

They warned of rising instability, given rebel attacks on the capital, N'Djamena, and the crisis in the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, which is spilling over into Chadian territory.

- AFP