Chad’s new ruling military council has named Albert Pahimi Padacke, the runner-up in this month’s presidential election as interim prime minister, a week after President Idriss Deby’s battlefield death, an appointment quickly dismissed by an opposition leader.
A military council seized power after Deby was killed as he visited troops fighting rebels on April 19. Opposition politicians have called the military takeover a coup, and one said on Monday, 26 April the army had no right to pick a premier.
The transition and the wrangling around it are being closely watched in a country that is a key power in central Africa and a longtime Western ally against Islamist militants across the Sahel.
The military council headed by Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has said it will oversee an 18-month transition to elections.
But it is coming under international pressure to hand over power to civilians as soon as possible. The African Union has expressed “grave concern” about the military takeover, while France and regional powers are pushing for a civilian-military solution.
Yacine Abderamane, president of the opposition Reformist Party, told Reuters he would not accept Padacke’s nomination.
“It is not up to the transitional military council to designate a prime minister in this isolated manner. We want there to be talks between political parties, civil society, and other actors in order to reach a consensus,” he said.