Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
French colony
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
of
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
.
Political activity in UDT
Sahoulba entered national politics when political parties were officially accepted in 1946 by founding the
Chadian Democratic Union
The Chadian Democratic Union (, UDT) was a political party in Chad.
History
The party was established in Fort Lamy in 1945. Following the General Council elections, members of the Chadian-French Progressive List (which had won 7 seats), Repu ...
(UDT), the first
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
n political party, conservative in its outlook and favoured by the colonial administration, with other traditional leaders. The party had no true opposition in local elections until 1953. Sahoulba also served in the
French Senate
The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...
from 1951-1959. From 1953 the UDT started to be superseded in French and popular support by the
Chadian Social Action
Chadian Social Action (, AST) was a political party in Chad.
History
The party was founded in 1953.Ahmed Koulamallah, Bechi Sow and Ahmed Kotoko.
Political activity in GIRT
But the picture radically changed in 1956, with the electoral reforms that greatly expanded the number of eligible voters, giving strength to the
Gabriel Lisette
Gabriel Francisco Lisette (2 April 1919 – 3 March 2001) was a Chadian politician who played a key role in the decolonization of Chad.
Biography
Of African descent, he was born at Portobelo, Panama, Portobelo in Panama on 2 April 1919. He bec ...
's nationalistic
Chadian Progressive Party
The Chadian Progressive Party (, PPT), known as the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (, MNRCS) for the last two years of its existence, was the first African political party in Chad. It was a regional branch of the African ...
(PPT). Sahoulba decided with others to leave the AST before the 1957 elections for the Territorial Assembly, forming the ''Groupement des Indépendants et Ruraux Tchadiens'' (GIRT). In the elections the PPT triumphed, while the GIRT came second with 9 seats out of 65.
Gabriel Lisette formed Chad's first African government, but it didn't last long: Sahoulba and Koulamallah formed a new party, the Chadian Popular Movement (''Mouvement Populaire Tchadien'' or MPT) which following a
motion of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
presented February 11, 1959, was instrumental in causing the downfall of Lisette. Sahoulba succeeded him as President of the Provisional Government, forming a government of which he was the only southern Chadian. This exclusion of the south generated high resentment, and brought Koulamallah to ally himself with Lisette against Sahoulba; as a result, a new
motion of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
was approved with 35 votes against 30, and a new government was formed by Koulamallah March 13, 1959. Sahoulba now on ceased to play any significant role in Chadian politics; he was to die in 1963.