Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Déby has officially pardoned jailed former Prime Minister Succès Masra and leader of the nation’s largest opposition group. A pardon was announced on Friday by the Presidency of the Republic of Chad that also extends to eight other prominent opposition leaders.

Prior to his conviction, Masra had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for hate speech, xenophobia and inciting a massacre. Widely denounced as politically motivated, the trial, which ended a year ago, was a subject of criticism from throughout the international community.

The other eight leaders, who were pardoned, are members of the Political Actors’ Consultation Group (GCAP), one of the biggest opposition coalitions that was disbanded by the Supreme Court this year. Previously, they were sentenced to eight years in prison for inciting an insurrection after leading a banned political demonstration.

The presidential decree only provides for complete remission of sentences for custody, not for amnesty. The opponents are physically free, but they also have criminal records and civil penalties which disqualify them from holding future elections.

Domestic Reactions and the Political Landscape

The terms of the pardon have generated mixed reactions on the political spectrum throughout the country. Hissein Abdoulaye, a GCAP spokesman, strongly condemned the move, describing the entire process of arbitrary arrests, fabricated convictions and the subsequent pardons as ‘a serious “democratic regression” that has removed opponents of the regime of their civil rights’.

However, Ndolembai Sade Njesada, vice president of The Transformers party of Masra, applauded the president’s decision to take his country forward in the spirit of national unity. Also, the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) of Déby hailed the development, saying political leaders need to get back to their families. 

The pardons come after a turbulent political transition that began in 2021 after the death of Déby’s father, who has ruled the nation for over two decades.The pardons are part of the latest step in a very precarious political transition which started in 2021 when the then president, Déby’s father, died after having ruled the country for more than 20 years. A popular economist in the mainly Christian and animist south, Masra, 42, was previously exiled but is now back to serve as prime minister before going against Déby in the presidential contest of 2024.

The elections and arrest of the losing candidate for allegedly inciting inter-communal violence have kept tensions high. The UN and the African Union have remained closely watching Chad’s democratic trajectory ever since. This had recently been underlined by the opposition, which has been even louder in October when the national Senate and parliament of Chad adopted a broad constitutional reform that allows the President to hold onto to his office for seven consecutive terms.