Reuters reported on 21 April 2016 that President Idriss Deby has won the recent presidential election held in Chad. This will be his fifth term in office. Based on results released by the national election management body, President Deby won 62% of the votes. The nearest rival managed to get only 13%. Opposition political parties have rejected the results, claiming that the counting process lacked credibility. President Deby has been at the helm for the last 26 years since he assumed leadership through a coup. Chad plays an important role in the fight against Islamic militancy in the region and hosts both the regional multi-national force fighting Boko Haram insurgents and a major French military base.
Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The outcome of the election was very predictable and in the foreseeable future not much change can be expected in Chad. However, the longer President Deby stays in power through elections with dubious credibility, the legitimacy of his regime will become weaker and weaker. That increases the susceptibility of the country to political instability and crisis. Such crises could come in the form of a coup or an armed insurgency. Either way, it would mean a huge setback in the fight against Islamic militant groups in the region which could take advantage of such insecurity to advance their cause. Considering the instability in the neighboring countries and the activities of Boko Haram in the region, the prospect of similar insecurity in Chad would mean another level of danger for Christians in the country as well as in the region as a whole."
