Chadians voted amid tight security Sunday in an election likely to see President Idriss Deby extend his 26-year rule in a country increasingly on the frontline of the global war on terror. Deby, who took office in a 1990 military coup, faces 12 challengers but is widely expected to win a fifth term after consolidating his grip on power in the central African nation.
Polling stations opened shortly after 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and by mid-afternoon had seen a large turnout. But there were no reports of trouble, even in an opposition stronghold in N'Djamena.
Security forces were out in force for the election, which comes after Chad was hit by a series of suicide attacks.
At a polling station in the capital, men and women waited patiently in separate queues to cast their ballots, many with their biometric voting card in hand, an AFP correspondent said.
"The big day has arrived. Chad must come out of these elections stronger," said Deby after casting his ballot. "The political class must accept the vote's results, which are the voice of the people."
But Deby's main rival and opposition chief Salem Kebzabo, candidate for the National Union for Development and Renewal (UNDR), claimed that soldiers across the country had been "forced to vote for Deby." Speaking after voting in the capital's Paris-Congo district, he also condemned what he called "ballot stuffing and massive buying up of voter cards".
The Internet, widely used by opposition activists, was cut from early in the day. Polls were to close at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) and results may not be released for two weeks.
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