N’DJAMENA – N’Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno is seeking to extend his three-decade long rule, running for a sixth time in this oil-producing Central African nation that is home to nearly half a million refugees and also plays a prominent role in the fight against Islamic extremism in the Sahel.
Giant portraits of Deby line the streets of the capital, N’Djamena, and the incumbent leader has campaigned on promises of building schools, paving roads and improving living conditions in this country that remains one of the least developed in the world.
Deby is widely expected to win in the first round, in part because two of the leading opposition candidates withdrew from the race as part of a boycott and a third man considered a top contender