Chadian opposition leader calls for unity after presidential pardon

Chad's main opposition leader, Succes Masra, has called for unity and reconciliation with President Mahamat Idriss Deby following his release from prison under a presidential pardon. Masra served a 20-year sentence for incitement to hatred and complicity in murder, a trial that Human Rights Watch deemed politically motivated. Despite being freed late Friday, Masra's conviction remains, preventing him from running for office.

He addressed hundreds of supporters at his party headquarters in the capital, N'Djamena, pledging determination to build a reconciled Chad. Masra emphasized the necessity of working together, stating that without the opposition, nothing can be built in the future. A presidential decree granted pardons to Masra and eight other jailed opposition figures, canceling their sentences but not erasing convictions.

Masra, a 42-year-old economist and prominent opposition figure, fled to Cameroon in 2022 after a protest was violently suppressed, only returning a year later under an agreement with the Chadian government. He was previously appointed prime minister, ran second in the 2024 election against Deby, and Deby has led Chad since 2021, after taking power following the death of his father.

Chad's constitution was amended in October 2025 to allow a renewable seven-year presidential term without re-election limits, according to HRW, further weakening prospects for genuine democratic progress.