This Saturday marked the beginning of the National Dialogue meeting in Chad in N’Djamena. General Mahamat Idriss Deby, the leader of the country’s ruling junta, referred to the opening ceremony as a “decisive moment for the nation” during it.
Over 1,400 representatives from the government, civil society, and opposition parties and organizations will have three weeks to discuss institutional reform, peace, and a new constitution in this fifth-largest African nation.
But above all, these discussions are intended to clear the way for the elections that have been scheduled for before the end of October. After his father passed away in April 2021, Mahamat Idriss Deby, who assumed authority, committed to hold free and democratic elections at the conclusion of his 18-month transition.
This event, which has been postponed a several times, was made possible by the agreement that the junta and about 40 groups signed on August 8. A pact that was rejected by two of the largest rebel factions, including the FACT, which killed Idriss Déby, the father of the current president, was among them.
