The February 13 vote was won comprehensively by the ruling party of President Idriss Deby, who went on to secure 88.66 percent of the vote in an April 25 presidential poll boycotted by opponents who feared it would be rigged.
The EU observers gave a preliminary assessment a day after the February poll, noting that while many voting stations had opened up to two hours late, it had not seen any irregularities aimed at rigging the result.
Louis Michel, head of the European Union observer mission, said the central African state had managed to create a neutral national election commission (Ceni) to run the vote, but told reporters in the capital N’Djamena:
“Unfortunately, the independence and neutrality of the Ceni is not enough to guarantee an efficient election.”
Aside from poorly trained or inexperienced vote officials, the EU mission noted that local authorities had in some cases laid on vehicles for the campaign of Deby’s ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), which won 110 of the 188 seats.
Official turnout for Deby’s reelection in April was 64 percent but opposition officials disputed the figure.
Chad produces about 115,000 barrels of oil a day, but remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
Deby has spent much of the time since his last win in 2006 tackling a