Chadian constitutional referendum, 1996

Chadian constitutional referendum, 1996
Chad

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Chad



Other countries · Atlas
Politics portal
view · talk · edit

A constitutional referendum was held in Chad on 31 March 1996 to approve or reject the new constitutional draft meant to definitively replace the Transitional Charter established by the Sovereign National Conference in 1993.[1] It was passed by 63.5% of voters with a 61% turnout.

Contents

Background

Chadian President Idriss Déby had promised since his rise to power in 1990 to transit Chad to a multiparty democracy. Despite these promises, Déby slowed the process in an attempt to maintain full control over the process. This worried France, Chad's former colonial power, as it noted that by 1995 only Chad had yet to hold multi-party elections. Putting pressure on Déby, he forced him to open on 6 January 1996 in Franceville, Gabon, a round table with the 15 armed groups and 58 opposition parties present in Chad.[2][3]

The reconciliation conference resulted in a failure, as it soon foundered on procedural points and questions of representation, and, at a deeper level, due to the deep mistrust between Northern and Southern Chadians. All the same, the conference was proficous to Déby who used it to divide the opposition, according himself with those formations willing to put an end to armed confrontation with the government.[2]

With a presidential decree on 6 March Déby established that the referendum would take place on 31 March.[3] Despite a certain degree of administrative confusion with the assistance of the French garrison present in the country the referendum was carried out successfully.[2] This did not avoid some abuses during the referendum campaign, such as the arrest by local authorities of the leader of the Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'Homme (LTDH) in Bongor, who had asked a village headman to follow the indications of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which prohibited to campaign on the referendum day.[4]

Monitoring

The Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation of the Francophonie, in its report on the presidential elections, mentioned the main criticisms moved towards the referendum's conduction. These centered on four points, concerning the inadequacy of the personnel encharged of the polling stations and the local electoral commissions, the absence of neutrality in the recruitment of said personnel, scarce respect of the electoral code during the count of votes and the unhomogeneous distribution of the referendum material.[3]

The referendum was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, controls the validity of the electoral rolls, guarantees over the distribution of the electoral material and over the nomination and formation of the presidents of the polling stations. The CENI is composed of 21 individuals, nominated in equal parts by the government, the Conseil Supérieur de Transition (i.e. the provisional parliament) and the political parties.[3] The CENI published on 8 April the provisional results of the referendum, which saw a victory for the "yes" by 61,46%, while the "no" took 38.54%, the latter obtaining a clear majority in 4 of the 18 Chadian prefectures, all collocated in southern Chad.[5] These results were revised by the N'Djamena Court of Appeals, which replaces for the time being the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court as the highest juridiction in Chad, as the latter have yet to be instituted. The court rejected a number of ballots for technicalities[6], raising the "yes" victory to 63.5%, which result it officially validated and made public on April 13. The Court also immediately proceeded to proclaim the Constitutional draft the new supreme law of the State, and the following day, on April 14, President Idriss Déby provided to promulgate it.[3]

Results

Choice Votes %
For 1,201,782 63.5
Against 700,362 36.5
Invalid/blank votes 88,525 -
Total 1,990,669 100

References

  1. ^ Failure to protect human rights Chad: Under the arbitrary rule of the security forces with the tacit consent of other countries 10 October 1996. Amnesty International
  2. ^ a b c Richard Cornwell, "Africa Watch Chad: Fuelling the flames", African Security Review, Vol. 8, No. 5, 1999
  3. ^ a b c d e Rapport de la Mission Exploratoire en vue des Elections Presidentielles des 2 et 23 Juin 1996 democratie.francophonie.org (French)
  4. ^ The victims Chad: Under the abitrary rule of the security forces with the tacit consent of other countries, 10 October 1996
  5. ^ "Tchad: La nouvelle constitution adoptee" Le Monde, 10 April 1996
  6. ^ Buijtenhuijs, Robert (June 1996). ""Le Tchad est inclassable": le référendum constitutionnel du 31 mars 1996" (PDF). Politique Africaine (62): 117–123. http://www.politique-africaine.com/numeros/pdf/062117.pdf. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chadian constitutional referendum, 1989 — Chad This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Chad Constitution President Idriss …   Wikipedia

  • Chadian constitutional referendum, 2005 — Chad This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Chad Constitution President Idriss …   Wikipedia

  • Chadian presidential election, 2006 — Chad This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Chad Constitution President Idriss …   Wikipedia

  • List of Chad-related topics — Chad articles=Chad related people*Ibrahim Abatcha *Abdullah I (Kanem Bornu king) *Abdelwahit About *Ahmad (Kanem Bornu king) *Ahmat Acyl *Mahamat Ali Adoum *Aissa Kili N guirmamaramama *Ali Gazi *Ali II of Bornu *Ahmad Allam Mi *Michel Arnaud… …   Wikipedia

  • chad — /chad/, n. Computers. a small paper disk or square formed when a hole is punched in a punch card or paper tape. [1945 50; orig. uncert.] * * * Chad Introduction Chad Background: Chad, part of France s African holdings until 1960, endured three… …   Universalium

  • Chad — /chad/, n. 1. Lake, a lake in Africa at the junction of four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. 5000 to 10,000 sq. mi. (13,000 to 26,000 sq. km) (seasonal variation). 2. Official name, Republic of Chad. a republic in N central Africa …   Universalium

  • Chad — This article is about the country. For other uses, see Chad (disambiguation). Republic of Chad République du Tchad ج …   Wikipedia

  • Ngarlejy Yorongar — Ngarlejy Koji Yorongar le Moinban is a Chadian politician. He is the Executive Federal Coordinator of the Federation, Action for the Republic (in French: Fédération, action pour la république or FAR), a radical opposition party, as well as a… …   Wikipedia

  • Jean Alingué Bawoyeu — ] Alingué, as the highest ranking civilian authority left in N Djamena, appealed for calm on the national radio and announced that he had assumed the lead of an interim government composed of fellow assemblymen and protected by the French troops… …   Wikipedia

  • Gabon — /gann bawonn /, n. 1. Official name, Gabonese Republic. a republic in W equatorial Africa: formerly a part of French Equatorial Africa; member of the French Community. 1,190,159; 102,290 sq. mi. (264,931 sq. km). Cap.: Libreville. 2. an estuary… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”