Yaoundé, Cameroon—

In response to growing campaign violence, Chad’s transitional president, General Mohamed Idriss Deby, has ordered the army to arrest angry civilians to ensure peace on the eve of and after the May 6 presidential election. Opposition and civil society groups called for a boycott of the vote and dismissed it as a sham, acknowledging that some civilians attacked members of Deby’s campaign.

Chad’s transitional president, General Mohamed Idriss Deby, said he would not allow anyone to disrupt the Central African country’s May 6 presidential election. Deby is running against nine challengers as the candidate of Chad’s former ruling party, the Movement Patriotic Salvation (MPS).

Government troops have been in towns and villages across the country to quell confrontations between his supporters and opposition followers since the presidential campaign launched on April 14, he told state television on Wednesday.

Deby said that when he took power three years ago, he vowed to maintain peace and order until power was handed over to an elected president. He said he had asked the Chadian military to remain vigilant because he would not allow what he described as inexperienced and power-hungry people to create chaos in Chad. He said the military would ensure peace in Chad before, during and after the May 6 vote.

Chad’s transitional government claimed that after about 1,000 civil society groups and 200 opposition parties publicly announced their support for Deby, some opposition leaders began to call for violence. Among those advocating violence, he said, were opposition figures banned by Chad’s Constitutional Council from running for president.

Those barred from running include Djimet Clemen Bagaou, a former army colonel and chairman of the People’s Democratic Party of Chad (PDPT). The Constitutional Council said there were irregularities in the birth certificate Bagau presented when registering as a candidate, but gave no further explanation.

Bagau said some of his supporters, including members of civil society groups, were engaging in daily confrontations with Deby’s followers and the military in several towns and villages.

Bagau claimed that Deby asked the Chadian army to attack his supporters and members of civil society who called for a boycott of the May 6 vote. He dismissed the election as a sham and accused Deby of doing everything possible to maintain his family’s grip on power, including harassing and arresting civilians who did not support his plans. Bagau said many members of the opposition and civil society were ready to prevent the elections from taking place.

Bagau spoke via a messaging app in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. He did not reveal how his supporters and civil society groups planned to prevent the election from taking place.

Chad’s military junta insists government troops deployed to keep the peace are not harassing civilians, as opposition and civil society groups have claimed.

Still, it admitted it had made some arrests, which officials said were part of efforts to ensure peaceful elections.

Two other fierce opponents of military rule banned by the Constitutional Council from running for president are Nassour Ibrahim Negi Kusami and Rahis Ahmed Saleh. They accuse Deby of using government troops to suppress his opponents in a bid to stay in power after Chad’s transition period ends in August. They claim he also used state resources, including government vehicles and officials, to conduct campaign activities.

The leader of the opposition Socialists Without Borders party and Deby’s cousin, Yaya Dilo Djerou, was killed in March in the capital N’Djamena by troops who surrounded the party’s headquarters.

Opposition supporters said Dillo might have been killed because he planned to challenge the general at the polls. The Chadian government denies the accusation, saying a firefight broke out when Dilo resisted arrest.

While some opposition members have called for a boycott of the election, Deby’s challengers say they are counting on Chad’s electoral commission, the national electoral authority (ANGE), to ensure a free, transparent and credible vote.

Ahmed Bartchiret is President of ANGE.

He said the May 6 presidential election is a barometer of Chad’s young democracy and that his institution must prove to the world that it respects the people’s democratic choices. Bartlett said all candidates running for president should know that ANGE is committed to holding fair and transparent elections.

The military junta led by Deby seized power in Chad immediately after his father, Mahamat Idriss Deby, who had ruled Chad for 30 years, was killed by rebels.

The younger Deby initially promised an 18-month transition period, but later appointed himself head of the transitional government.

The May 6 presidential election is part of Chad’s return to democracy. Provisional results are expected to be announced on July 7.

Deby said he would respect the vote and hand over power if it failed.