Chad will hold a presidential election first-round vote on May 6, ending a transition period that will have lasted three years, the electoral commission announced on Tuesday.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was proclaimed head of an army-run administration nearly three years ago after rebels killed his father, who had ruled the nation for three decades.

Mahamat Deby promised to hand power back to civilians and organise elections within 18 months but added another two years of transition.

The end of the transition period was pushed back to October 10, 2 024.

'Legal void'

"Beyond this date, the country will fall into a legal void, synonymous with foreseeable chaos," Ahmet Bartchiret, president of the ANGE electoral commission said.

"It is therefore imperative to hold the elections before."

In mid-January, his father's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) designated Deby Itno as its candidate for the presidential election.

Deby had told the African Union he would not run for president, but a new constitution adopted by a mid-December referendum allows him to do so.

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