Celebratory gunshots rang out in the capital of the Central African nation of Chad on Thursday night after its military ruler, President Mahamat Idriss Déby, was declared the winner of a highly scripted presidential election on national television. Two hours before the official broadcast, a “resounding victory” had been claimed by his main challenger, Succès Masra, the opposition leader who has been the country’s prime minister since January, after he returned from exile abroad and made a deal with Mr. Déby. But the preliminary results announced by Chad’s National Elections Management Agency depicted a resounding victory for the other side. Mr. Déby, it said, won 61 percent of the vote, and Mr. Masra 18.5 percent. Many analysts saw the result of Chad’s election as a foregone conclusion, and one that had been masterminded by a supposedly transitional government that never had any intention of relinquishing power.

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Persons: Mahamat Idriss Déby, ”, Succès Masra, Déby Organizations: Central, Mr, Chad’s National Elections Management Agency Locations: Central African, Chad