Parliamentary elections were held in Chad on 5 January 1997, with a second round on 23 February. They were the first multi-party elections since independence in 1960 and resulted in a victory for the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), which won 65 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly. However, the elections were marred by electoral fraud, including widespread vote rigging, as with the 1996 presidential elections.
Background The previous parliamentary elections had been held in 1990, officially on a non-partisan basis, but the Chadian constitution ensured single-party rule under President Hissène Habré's National Union for Independence and Revolution party. However, after a few months, Idriss Déby and the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) overthrew Habré's government in a coup. The National Assembly and constitution were both suspended as a result.
The 1997 elections represented a culmination of the slow ongoing post-coup democratization process. Other political parties were approved in 1992. A conference to draft a constitution began in 1993, and the new constitution was approved in a 1996 referendum, and a multi-party presidential election was held a few months later, with Déby and the MPS winning. The elections were the first multi-party parliamentary election in Chad since independence, and the first since the last pre-independence elections in 1959.
Electoral system The elections were held using the two round system. Candidates had to win a majority of the vote in the first round to be elected. In constituencies where no candidate received a majority, a second round was held. The members of the National Assembly were elected to four-year terms.
Campaign A total of 30 parties contested the elections, putting forward 656 candidates. The parties receiving over 5% of the overall vote share were:
Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS; ) was led by President Idriss Déby and presented itself as a "guarnator of the democratic process". It was originally a coalition of rebel groups that successfully launched the 1990 Chadian coup d'état, and developed into the ruling party. In the parliamentary elections, most of its support came from northern Chad. Union for Renewal and Democracy (URD; ) was led by Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, a general from southern Chad, and its support came largely from the Sara people and workers in the south of the country. Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP; ) was led by Lol Mahamat Choua, who had served as President in 1979. The party called for army reform to stabilize the Chadian political sphere, and relied on support from businesspeople in the western parts of the country. National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR; ) was led by Saleh Kebzabo, a journalist and politician from the south. The party campaigned on a libertarian platform calling for the decentralization of government functions and relied on support across ethnic and religious groups.
Results
Aftermath Voting patterns largely followed regional lines, with the MPS dominant in the northern, central, and eastern parts of Chad, and the URD holding power in the south. The newly elected National Assembly was opened on 4 April. A government was formed with Nassour Guelendouksia Ouaido as Prime Minister on 21 May.
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