Presidential elections were held in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. They were the first multiparty presidential elections in the

history of Chad Chad ( ar, تشاد ; french: Tchad), officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, a ...

and occurred at the end of a long transitional process after repeated delays. The elections were won by the incumbent

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...

, who easily defeated a prominent southern politician,

Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué (May 20, 1939 – May 9, 2011) was a Chadian politician and army officer. Kamougué was a leading figure in the 1975 coup d'état and subsequently held several positions in the Chadian government and legislature. He was ...

, in the second round. Déby benefited from the support of another southern politician,

Saleh Kebzabo Saleh Kebzabo ( ar, صالح كبزابو, born 27 March 1947 in Léré, Chad) is a Chadian politician. He is the President of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR) and a Deputy in the National Assembly of Chad."Saleh Kebzabo: "A voi ...

, who was placed third in the first round. The election was marred by widespread and credible reports of

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

and government intimidation of opposition forces, confirmed by international observers. Voter turnout was 67.5% in the first round and 77.7% in the second. Following his victory, Déby was sworn in on 8 August 1996.LE PRÉSIDENT DÉBY VEUT FAIRE PLUS ENCORE
''Diplomat Investissement'', March–April 2006, p9

Results

References

Presidential elections in Chad

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

Chadian presidential election Chadian presidential election {{Africa-election-stub