On Friday, Chadian soldiers were deployed in significant numbers throughout various districts of the capital, following nocturnal festivities celebrating the electoral triumph of junta leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
Prior to the official results awarding Deby over 61 percent in Monday’s election, the presidential guard had stationed numerous armored vehicles at key intersections and roads.
According to AFP reporters, the troop presence on Friday’s streets was notably greater than that observed after past elections.
Hours before the official results were released late Thursday, Prime Minister Succes Masra claimed victory in the election.
Masra, the former opposition leader who became prime minister in January, had cautioned that Deby’s team would manipulate the results to secure his victory.
He called on the Chadian public to “mobilize peacefully but resolutely to affirm our victory.”
The electoral commission reported that Masra received only 18.53 percent of the vote.
Three years prior, Deby, aged 40, was declared transitional president by the military following the assassination of his father, the authoritarian president Idriss Deby Itno, by insurgents.
On Friday, there was no noticeable increase in security around the headquarters of Masra’s Transformers’ party in the capital’s south.
Following the announcement of the results late Thursday, soldiers discharged several rounds of gunfire into the air near the party HQ, both in jubilation of Deby’s victory and as a deterrent to potential protesters.
On Friday, heavily armed presidential guard members, donning their red berets, were seen on main thoroughfares, flanked by a substantial number of armored vehicles, as reported by AFP journalists.
Nevertheless, the capital remained tranquil in anticipation of Friday’s Muslim prayers, with residents continuing their daily routines.
In the vicinity of the presidential palace, Deby’s supporters celebrated by yelling, singing, honking car horns, and discharging firearms into the air.
An AFP journalist reported that at least two teenagers were injured by stray bullets.
