N’DJAMENA, Chad: Dozens of activists from Chadian Prime Minister Succes Masra’s Party have been arrested on suspicion of forgery and the use of forged documents during this week’s presidential election, legal sources said on Saturday.
This news was released after the authorities announced General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno the winner with 61.03 percent of the vote and after Masra himself claimed victory.
N’Djamena prosecutor Oumar Kedellaye told media that 76 activists from Masra’s Transformers Party were arrested.
He added they are accused of forgery, use of forgery, usurpation and collusion.
According to the election law, candidates’ representatives are allowed to attend polling stations as long as they are approved by ANGE, the national election management agency.
Kedellaye said that the arrested people are accused of forging access cards to various polling stations.
Sitack Yombatina, vice president of Transformers, condemned the allegations that Transformers interfered in the voting process as “ridiculous and imaginary”.
On Tuesday, state television reported the arrest of “suspected fake agents” who allegedly worked for Masra’s party.
On Wednesday, the party condemned “arbitrary arrests” and “serious threats of violence” against its supporters.
Officials also claimed they were denied access to polling stations to monitor vote counting.
Masra was once a fierce critic of Deby. Deby appointed him prime minister four months before the presidential election, but Masra ran against him.
As Masra announced victory on Thursday, he warned that the Deby team would rig the result and “steal victory from the people” and called for peaceful protests.
According to official statistics, he won 18.53 percent of the votes.
The country’s heavily repressed rebels, whose leaders are barred from running, saw him as a pawn anyway, allowing him to give the campaign a “democratic guise.”
In the early stages of the campaign, observers predicted a landslide victory for Mr. Deby, 40, whose main rival was killed earlier this year.
Debi was named interim president three years ago by his fellow generals, succeeding his father, iron-fisted president Idriss Deby Itno who had been shot dead by rebels after 30 years in power.
