The interim president of Chad and head of the military junta that has ruled for the past three years, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, was declared the winner of the produced on Monday presidential elections in the country, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA, referring to the preliminary results announced last night.
According to the results of the vote count announced by the state election commission, Debi Itno has collected just over 61 percent of the vote, while the opposition leader Syukse Masra has 18.5 percent. Masra declared that the elections were manipulated.
Before the results were announced, he announced that he had won the first round of the election, AFP and Reuters reported earlier.
A parallel count conducted by his supporters had shown that he had more votes than Debbie Itno. "This is a victory of 'change over the status quo,'" he announced in a long speech broadcast live on his Facebook page.
France Press reported that shots were heard in the capital N'Djamena. Tensions are running high in Chad, with large numbers of security forces stationed at major intersections in the capital N'Djamena ahead of the announcement of the results, Reuters notes.