Several candidates from the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS)—the party of former Chadian President Idriss Deby, now a key supporter of his son and successor, Mahamat Idriss Deby—have been disqualified by the electoral Agency overseeing the legislative and local elections set for December 29, 2024.
Among the rejected candidates is the MPS Secretary General, Mahamat Zen Bada. In total, at least six MPS candidates were disqualified, five of whom were previously convicted and sentenced to prison in Chad, with four of these convictions relating to the embezzlement of public funds, as confirmed by official rejection letters on November 12.
Mahamat Zen Bada, the party’s Secretary General, faced rejection due to a 2012 conviction for forgery, use of forged documents, and embezzlement of public funds. While Zen Bada received a presidential pardon, Chadian law still records his conviction in the criminal record, unlike an amnesty that would expunge it.
According to the National Agency for the Management of Elections (ANGE), the clean record submitted by Zen Bada was invalid.
The MPS is currently verifying these cases, said spokesperson Issa Doubragne, and will support the disqualified candidates in “potential appeals” that must be filed with the Constitutional Council within five days.