ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 324 - 15/05/1997

Chad

The General Election causes family upsets

by Missé Nanando, Chad, March 1997

THEME = ELECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

The run-up to the General Election has split some families right down the middle. Candidates in the capital are upset to learn that their own brothers or close relatives back in their home village are contesting the same seat. What's behind this interest in local candidates?

The Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), (the party in power) and other political groups making up the Republican Front, have decided to put forward local candidates, nicknamed "locals". The idea is to block opponents who suddenly appear on the scene, usually from the capital or other large towns. Hence their sobriquet: "paratrooper candidates".
Faced with the blocking procedures, the "paratroopers" have to grind their teeth in frustration, because they were counting on family and tribal ties to corner votes.
For instance, one particular "paratrooper" wrote to his life-long friend in Koumra (Middle Chari), asking if he could use his place as a campaign office - only to be told that this same friend was standing for the Lingui party. This exasperated the city candidate who knew only too well the Lingui were no political party, but a secret society of the Lamifortains. "And", he said, "we all know what the founder of the Lingui said to the Sovereign National Conference".
In the Nar region, (Mandoul), a former well known Member of Parliament (MP), now standing for the Union for Democratic Change (UCD), found himself face to face with his cousin from his own village, who is standing for the Movement for Democracy and Socialism in Chad (MDST). The former denounced the latter's disloyalty to the Nar tribe as "outrageous". The family's tact is strained to its limits to resolve the right royal row between the two cousins.
Then there's the case of another candidate who suddenly put in an appearance, and who counted on the Gor, Bédjondo and Daye tribes to corner the votes at Koumra. He now finds himself up against six "locals". One is the canton chief of Bangoul, put up by the MPS, another is the daughter of the chief of Bédjondo. The remaining four are of less importance. Questioned about this, the "paratrooper" is quite optimistic. "After all" says he, "we're one big family. Down there in Ndjamena, we'll get on alright. In any case, if the "locals" don't make it to the Senate, there's always the Town Hall. I only regret that for the past five years, we've continually denounced the extortion and pillaging carried on in the villages by the MPS soldiers. Yet now the village people have allowed themselves to be "bought" by the same people who were persecuting them".
Middle-Chari isn't the only place where families have been split. There's already been a casualty in Eastern Logone. It's just the same in Western Logone where the relatives of a "paratrooper" openly denounced him.

The disadvantage of being a "local"

Do the "locals" have any chance of winning? This is far from being sure. Be they clerks, midwives, nurses, nursery teachers, or office boys, the "locals" know neither the geography nor the history of Chad, let alone that of neighbouring countries. Indeed, they often confuse the country with its capital. Hardly able to understand national, let alone world affairs, how can they contribute to parliamentary debates? Clearly unable to argue their party's manifesto in their constituency, they fall back on talking about digging wells or building schools. Their ignorance means they confuse the role of an MP with that of a municipal councillor. An MP has a national mandate. He speaks on behalf of the whole of Chad and not just for his local electorate. Another argument against "locals" is that rural people always tend to be mesmerised by anything or anyone coming from the capital. Hence, they are much more likely to be won over by the words of a "paratrooper" than by those of their local neighbours, with whom disputes are never lacking. There's conflicts over women, and other small town disputes. Moreover, because of their MPS militancy, these "locals" are often drawn to extortion and blackmail. All this doesn't help their chances of getting elected.

No return to the past, please

Given the political state of the country, with all the documents pouring out of the Sovereign National Conference, the "locals" are in a very poor position to take on a parliamentary role at this precise moment in Chad's history. Indeed, they've neither seen nor even read the Constitution, the Charter governing political parties, the Electoral Code and other relevant documents. Just how can they take part in parliamentary debates? The "paratroopers" reckon the "locals" have excluded themselves from all political debate right from the start. Because of their background, if elected, the "locals" might well pass laws to their own disadvantage, or that of their relatives who voted for them! It would be a great pity if the future National Assembly were to resemble that of President Tombalbaye's time. In his day, many illiterates were coopted into parliament to give the appearance of being truly representative of the people. Things have now developed to such an extent that the National Assembly has to face up to an ever encroaching executive. Political tension between the powers-that-be and the people is on the increase: Endemic lack of security; media censorship; the unlawful use of state funds; the dominance of the governing clan at all levels of government. All this is beyond the comprehension of "locals".
To sum up; besides family divisions brought on by this political set up, the electoral games of the MPS and their clique are dangerous on two counts. On the one hand they risk bringing back to the National Assembly people who don't make any contribution to the way their country is governed, or who simply don't turn up for debates or for voting in the House (and are consequently easy prey to those who want to "manipulate" them). On the other hand, genuine opposition candidates might be prevented from getting into Parliament.
At the Franco-African summit at Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), all the talk was of "governance" and "development". How does Chad's future National Assembly fit in with these concepts?

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement