N'Djamena [Chad], December 29: Voting has begun in general elections in Chad, which President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has portrayed as a key step in a transition to democracy but are being boycotted by the country's opposition parties.
Members of the armed forces and nomadic tribes in Chad were summoned to vote on Saturday for logistical reasons. But most people in the African nation of about 20 million people will vote on Sunday to select a national parliament, regional assemblies and local councils. The polls will be open from 6am to 5pm local time.
Reporting from the capital N'Djamena on Saturday afternoon, Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi said many Chadians described feeling "indifferent" in the lead-up to the vote.
"They say they don't expect to see any changes. They say that they believe that the ruling party is going to win no matter what," she said.
"A lot of them are just talking about . bread-and-butter issues: They say the cost of living is extremely high. They're talking about corruption and nepotism that is rife." The country's opposition parties have called on people to boycott the vote, which they described as a sham.
Source: Ǫatar Tribune 2
