REPUBLIC OF CHAD Official name: République du Tchad / al-Jumhuriya al-Tashad (Republic of Chad) Location: Central Africa International organisations: The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, The African Union, The Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, The Organisation of Islamic Conference, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Cameroun, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan Coastline: None Land area: 1,284,000 Km2 Population: 9,000,000 Ethnicity: Chad is divided between the north, whose people are a mix of Arab and Berber stock, and the south, whose people are of Sudanic African stock. The largest ethnic group are the Sara in the south.

Languages: French and Arabic are the official languages. About 15% speak Arabic as their first language. Many African languages are spoken, the largest being Fulfulde, Sango, Ngambe, Kanembu, Maba and Dazaga.
Religion: Sunni Moslem 51%, Catholic Christian 35%, indigenous beliefs 14%
Form of government: Presidential republic. Chad is divided into 14 prefectures.
Capital: N'Djamena
Constitution: The new Constitution of the Republic of Chad came into effect on 13 March 1996.
Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term.
Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
Legislature: Chad has a bicameral legislature. The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has 155 members, elected for four-year terms from a mixture of multi-mmeber and single-member constituencies. The Senate (Sénat) is elected by an electoral college representing regional and municipal authorities.
Electoral authority: The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) administers national elections.
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 6, Civil Liberties 5

Political history

The area which is now Chad was brought under French control in the 1890s and became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910, administered from Brazzaville in the Congo. Chad became a separate colony in 1946. It was one of the least developed of France's colonies when it became self- governing within the French Community in 1958 and independent in 1960. It was also weakened by the divide between the Moslem-Arab north and the Christian-African south.

It was not surprising therefore that democratic government was not established in independent Chad. François Tombalbaye soon established himself as a dictator and ruled until his assassination in 1975. Moslem resentment at his rule led to an insurrection in the north which continued on and off through the 1970s. Following Tombalbaye's death a northerner, Goukouni Oueddei, seized power and ruled with the support of Libyan troops until 1982, when he was overthrown by forces led by Hissène Habré.

Fighting continued until 1987, when there was a ceasefire. In 1990 Habré, who had become a very oppressive ruler, was in turn overthrown by Idris Déby's Movement for Popular Salvation. In 1996 a new constitution was drafted and a multi-party system established at least in theory. President Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement remains the dominant force in the country. The main opposition parties are the Rally for Democracy and Progress, the Federation Party and Action for the Republic, and the Action for Unity and Socialism.

Amnesty International's 2002 Report on noted:

"In May [2001] President Idriss Déby was re-elected. Opposition candidates alleged that the election was marred by fraud and intimidation and called for the results to be annulled. The results were, however, confirmed by the Constitutional Court. On 30 May the government banned gatherings of more than 20 people. However, political protests continued and the Chadian security forces responded with excessive use of force.

"An armed opposition group, the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, continued to operate in northern Chad. Human rights violations by government troops, particularly during counter-insurgency operations against the MDJT, were reported. These included extrajudicial executions of unarmed civilians as well as suspected MDJT supporters or combatants; torture, particularly in military barracks; the destruction of villages; and the use of detainees as forced labourers. However, lack of access to the area made independent verification difficult."