Following the late-night celebrations marking the presidential election victory of junta leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, Chadian soldiers have been deployed across several districts of the capital.
Even before the official announcement giving Deby more than 61 percent in Monday’s ballot, the presidential guard had positioned numerous armoured vehicles at major junctions and thoroughfares.
The presence of troops on the streets Friday appeared notably larger compared to previous elections.
Mere hours before the official results were declared late Thursday, Prime Minister Succes Masra had declared himself the victor of the vote.
Masra, a former opposition leader appointed prime minister in January, had cautioned that Deby’s team might manipulate the results to ensure his victory.
He urged Chadians to “mobilise peacefully but firmly… to prove our victory”.
According to the electoral commission, Masra had secured only 18.53 percent of the vote.
Deby, aged 40, had been named transitional president three years ago by the army following the death of his father, the iron-fisted president Idriss Deby Itno, who was shot dead by rebels.
There was no visible increase in security around the headquarters of Masra’s Transformers’ party in the south of the capital on Friday.
Soldiers had discharged repeated bursts of gunfire into the air near the party HQ after the results were announced late Thursday, both in celebration of Deby’s win and to dissuade protesters from assembling.
Heavily-armed members of the presidential guard, recognizable by their red berets, were present Friday on main roads alongside a significant number of armoured vehicles, as reported by AFP journalists.
However, the capital appeared calm in anticipation of Friday’s Muslim prayers, and people proceeded with their daily activities.
Near the presidential palace, Deby’s supporters had cheered, sung, honked car horns, and fired guns into the air in celebration.
It was reported that at least two teenagers were wounded by falling bullets.
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