Political power consolidation and democratic backsliding
In 2025, President Mahamat Idriss Déby significantly strengthened his grip on power following the controversial 2024 presidential election, widely criticized by opposition groups for alleged irregularities. Constitutional amendments ratified in 2025 removed presidential term limits and extended mandates from five to seven years, effectively allowing Déby to remain in office indefinitely, provided he holds elections every seven years.
Opposition figures faced severe restrictions. Succès Masra, leader of the opposition party Les Transformateurs—who challenged the 2024 election—was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Activists, party members, and journalists linked to his movement endured intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and legal persecution.
A contentious amnesty law passed in 2025 shields individuals accused of abuses during October 2022 protests from prosecution, effectively burying accountability for three years of rights violations.
Escalating intercommunal violence and humanitarian strain
Intercommunal clashes continued to plague southern and eastern Chad in 2025, primarily between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farming communities. These conflicts resulted in dozens of fatalities across multiple incidents. The displacement crisis, compounded by the Sudan conflict spillover—where refugees continue to flee into Chad—has stretched humanitarian aid resources to breaking point. Severe flooding in late 2024 and early 2025 devastated Chad, worsening food insecurity across the region.
Efforts to address land tenure disputes—rooted in unclear property rights and migratory routes—have failed to curb violence. In May, clashes in Mandakao (Logone-Occidental) over disputed pasture boundaries left 41 dead and six injured. June saw machete attacks in Orégomel (Mayo-Kebbi Ouest), killing 17, including women and children. Mid-June tribal violence in Molou (Ouaddaï) claimed around 20 lives and injured 16 others.
Political opposition crushed and constitutional overhaul
On May 16, Succès Masra was arrested in N’Djamena on charges of inciting hatred, xenophobia, and complicity in murder via social media, linked to the Mandakao violence. His trial, alongside dozens of others, resulted in a 20-year sentence and a 1 billion CFA franc fine (≈$1.8 million USD) on August 9. Co-defendants received identical penalties. His arrest and prosecution violated the Kinshasa Agreement (October 2023), which had suspended his arrest warrant and guaranteed safe return and political activity for him and his supporters.
Constitutional amendments: a power grab disguised as reform
In September 2025, Chad’s National Assembly approved sweeping constitutional changes extending presidential terms to seven years with no term limits, eliminating checks on executive power. The vote passed 171–0–1 (for–against–abstain) after opposition boycott. The reforms were later ratified by both parliamentary chambers and signed into law by Déby in October, centralizing authority and stifling legislative and judicial oversight.
Silencing dissent through repression and legalized impunity
Investigations into the 2024 post-election violence—where security forces fired live ammunition into civilian areas, killing at least 11 and injuring many others—remained stalled in 2025. No perpetrators were held accountable, and victims received no reparations or recourse. The 2024 killing of opposition leader Yaya Dillo during a security raid on his party headquarters has also gone uninvestigated. In December 2024, 24 of his relatives were released from Koro Toro prison, while 10 others were acquitted in July 2024.
In June, Robert Gam, leader of Yaya Dillo‘s party, was freed after eight months in detention without charge. In September, the Ministry of Territorial Administration revoked the citizenship of Makaila Nguebla—a former presidential advisor—and journalist Charfadine Galmaye Saleh, both now living in exile.
Journalists Olivier Monodji and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein were arrested in March on espionage and state security charges, allegedly for reporting on the Wagner Group. Held without trial for four months, they were released in July, a violation of international detention standards.
Systemic discrimination: LGBTQ+ rights under threat
Chad‘s 2017 Penal Code, Article 354, criminalizes same-sex relations, imposing up to two years imprisonment and fines from 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (≈$75–$750 USD).
