The Chadian National Commission in charge of the Organisation of the Constitutional Referendum (CONOREC) announced the new constitution will be adopted after an 86 percent vote in favour of the referendum, with a participation of 63,75 percent, in a ceremony for results proclamation Sunday.

The draft of the proposed constitution was adopted in June by the government and promotes a unitary and decentralised state.

The CONOREC celebrated the outcome with the president of the commission, Limane Mohamat, stating:

Many critics were lost in conjectures regarding the success of our mission, but all’s well that ends well… With the current provisional results, which are in accordance with the law, the CONOREC has accomplished its obligation within the time limit imparted in the chronogram of the constitutional referendum organisation process.

The referendum passed after a month of campaigning, encouraged by the current government and the transitional president, General Mahamat Idriss Deby. However, opposition leaders contested the proposed constitution with the Consultation Group of Political Actors urging for the cancellation of the referendum. Furthermore, the president of the Union of Democrats for Development and Progress party, Max Kemboye, called for for the dissolution of the CONOREC and criticised the lack of transparency and inclusion, accusing the military junta of having overwhelming control over the organisation process of the referendum. Others have criticised the results claiming they were manipulated, as it was alleged that a number of Chadians have boycotted the vote for a new constitution.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby claimed power as the transitional leader of Chad after the death of his father, former president Idriss Déby Itno, in 2021. His government has since been condemned on several occasions for violent suppressions of pro-democracy protests, with reported practices of acts such as ill-treatment and torture of people in detention. Ahead of the referendum, the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch Lewis Mudge urged the government to “respect basic principles of political plurality as it prepares the ground for a new constitution”.

The Supreme Court has four days to examine the referendum results before the announcement of the final pronouncement on Thursday. The promulgation of the new constitution is planned for January 1, giving way to the presidential and legislative elections, marking the end of the transitional period.