(AFP) — One of Chad's most vocal opposition parties said Tuesday it had gained authorization from the junta that took office after the country's veteran leader was killed in April.
The Transformers, founded in 2018 by a young campaigner named Succes Masra, had previously failed to gain authorization, on the grounds that some of its leaders were below an age threshold for registration.
Masra told AFP "common sense is returning to parts of the government."
"We should never have suffered this arbitrary treatment, but better late than never, we have fulfilled all the conditions."
Chad has been ruled by a junta since April 20, when the military announced that veteran leader Idriss Deby Itno had been killed leading troops against rebels.
Deby's son Mahamat, a four-star general, declared himself president after his father's death.
Masra had sought to contest presidential elections in April that the elder Deby won in a landslide shortly before his death.
But he was barred on the grounds that at age 38 he was below the electoral threshold of 40.
His party was a strong critic of the late Deby, who ruled Chad with an iron fist for 30 years.
The junta, after taking power, said it would hold "free and democratic" elections within 18 months, a deadline that it said could be postponed once.
The African Union is pushing for a firm handover to civilian rule within 18 months.
Masra called for demonstrations against the junta, officially called the Military Transition Council, or CMT.
"We support a civilian-military transition," he said.
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© Agence France-Presse
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