On 6 June 2005 the Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

ian voters were called to pronounce themselves through a referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 on the revision of the Constitution originally approved on 31 March 1996.

The question placed to the voters was this: "Do you support the constitutional law proposal of revision of the Constitution of 31 March 1996 approved by the National Assembly on 23 May 2004? (in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: Appouvez-vous la proposition de loi constitutionnelle portant révision de la Constitution du 31 mars 1996 adoptée par l'Assemblée nationale le 23 mai 2004?)"

The amendments to the Constitution consist of:

• The removal of the limitation of the number of presidential terms (2)
• Replacement of the Senate by a Cultural, Economic and Social Council
• Moving the constitutional amendment process to the President

It is not difficult to understand that the amendments had been suited for the ruling President

Heads of state of Chad

-List of Heads of State of Chad:-Affiliations:-External links:**...

 Idriss Déby

Idriss Déby

General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...

, who was to complete his second term in 2006. By the original Constitution he would have been forced to step down then, a thing that, as the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 newspaper Le Monde

Le Monde

Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

noted in its 9 July 2006 had previously promised to do. The paper reported a speech held by Déby in June 2001:

I make a public commitment: I will not be candidate at the 2006 presidential election. I will not change the Constitution [...] What remains to do for me in my last mandate, is to prepare Chad for alternation in government.

While Dèby's Patriotic Salvation Movement

Patriotic Salvation Movement

The Patriotic Salvation Movement is the ruling political party in Chad.After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his supporters, known as the April 1 Movement, operated from Sudan with Libyan backing...

 (MPS) campaigned for "yes", the opposition was divided among those who campaigned for boycotting the vote and those who called for a "no" vote. The abstensionists allied themselves in the Coordination des Partis politiques pour la Défense de la Constitution (CPDC), which included among its 24 parties the Rally for Democracy and Progress

Rally for Democracy and Progress (Chad)

The Rally for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Chad, led by Lol Mahamat Choua.The party was founded by Choua in December 1991 and was among the first batch of political parties to be legalized in March 1992....

 and Union for Renewal and Democracy

Union for Renewal and Democracy

The Union for Renewal and Democracy is a political party in Chad. Its President is Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué.The party, which has always been based around Kamougué, was founded in March 1992 and legalized in May 1992...

; among the "no" campaigning parties were Front of Action Forces for the Republic

Front of Action Forces for the Republic

Federation, Action for the Republic is a political party in Chad. It is considered a radical opposition party and is led by Ngarlejy Yorongar. The FAR supports federalism.In the 1997 parliamentary election, the FAR won one seat in the National Assembly...

 and the Rally for the Republic - Lingui

Rally for the Republic - Lingui

The Rally for the Republic – Lingui is a political party in Chad.At the last legislative elections, 21 April 2002, the party won according to IPU Parline 1 out of 155 seats....

.

The definitive results were published on 7 July, and were a clear victory for the President with 65.75% "yes" against 34.25% "no". 57.8% of the population participated, but in the capital - N'Djamena

N'Djamena

N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...

 - only 30.7% of registered voters voted.

This victory cleared the road for Idriss Déby's candidacy in the 2006 presidential election

Chadian presidential election, 2006

A presidential election took place in Chad on May 3, 2006. A 2005 constitutional referendum made it possible for President Idriss Déby to run for a third term; having come to power in December 1990, he previously won elections in 1996 and 2001...

, in which he won a third term.

Regions	Registered Voters	Voters	Invalid Votes	Valid Votes	“Yes” Votes	% Yes	“No” Votes	% No	Voter Turnout
Batha Batha Region Batha is one of the 22 regions of Chad. It is located in the centre of the country, the regional capital is Ati, and the region is composed of what was formerly Batha Prefecture.-Subdivisions:The region of Batha is divided in 3 departments:-Demography:...	313,441	203,955	1,943	202,012	137,224	67.93	64,788	32.07	65.1
Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti	96,945	69,718	756	68,962	52,487	76. 11	16,475	23.89	71.9
Chari-Baguirmi Chari-Baguirmi Region Chari-Baguirmi is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Massenya. It is composed by part of the former Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture .-Subdivisions:...	260,297	150,371	3,478	146,893	92,548	63.00	54,345	37.00	57.8
Guéra Guéra Region Guéra is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Mongo. It is formed by the former Guéra Prefecture-Subdivisions:The region of Guéra is divided in 2 departments:-Demography:...	248,861	151,516	1,884	149,632	102,046	68.20	47,586	31.80	60.9
Hadjer-Lamis	328,955	217,327	2,740	214,587	144,936	67.54	69,651	32.46	66.1
Kanem Kanem Region Kanem is one of the 22 regions of Chad, corresponding to the former prefecture of Kanem. Its capital is Mao. It is named after the famous Kanem Empire, which was centered in this vicinity.The region of Kanem is divided into 3 departments:-Demography:...	300,089	159,220	901	158,319	110,726	69.94	47,593	30.06	53.1
Lac Lac Region Lac is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Bol. It is composed by the former Lac Prefecture.- Subdivisions :The region of Lac is divided in 2 departments:- Demography :The population of this region has 248,226 inhabitants ....	202,651	124,161	1,219	122,942	87,981	71.56	34,961	28.44	61.3
Logone Occidental Logone Occidental Region Logone Occidental is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Moundou. It consists of the former Logone Occidental Prefecture.-Subdivisions:The region of Logone Occidental is divided in 3 departments:-Demography:...	268,521	121,017	5,971	115,046	58,292	50.67	56,754	49.33	45.1
Logone Oriental Logone Oriental Region Logone Oriental is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Doba. It is composed by the former Logone Oriental Prefecture.-Subdivisions:The region of Logone Oriental is divided in 4 departments:-Demography:...	258,420	138,786	4,530	134,256	76,927	57.30	57,329	42.70	53.7
Mandoul	242,256	171,000	7,523	163,477	102,812	62.89	60,665	37.11	70.6
Mayo-Kebbi Est	323,160	178,833	4,012	174,821	104,279	59.65	70,542	40.35	55.3
Mayo-Kebbi Ouest	195,714	137,366	6,143	131,223	81,593	62.18	49,630	37.82	70.2
Moyen-Chari Moyen-Chari Region Moyen-Chari is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Sarh. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, breeding, cotton and sugarcane.-Demography:The region's population was 598,284 inhabitants in 2009 ....	243,182	117,095	5,860	111,235	61,923	55.67	49,312	44.33	48.2
Ouaddaï Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Abéché. It is composed by the former Ouaddaï Prefecture. Its main ethnic groups are the Arabs and the Maba. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture and breeding...	507,112	384,585	9,038	375,547	274,982	73.22	100,565	13.04	83.7
Salamat Salamat Region Salamat is one of the 22 regions of Chad with its capital at Am Timan. The region's economy is based on subsistence agriculture, breeding, fishery and cotton.-Demography:The region's population was 308,605 inhabitants in 2009....	161,162	101,339	849	100,490	68,647	68.31	31,843	31.69	62.9
Tandjilé Tandjilé Region Tandjilé is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Laï.-Subdivisions:The region of Tandjilé is divided in 2 departments:-Demography:...	253,795	129,590	4,980	124,610	74,045	59.42	50,565	40.58	51.1
Wadi Fira	190,234	137,482	1,026	136,456	95,678	70.12	40,778	29.88	72.3
N'Djamena N'Djamena N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...	563,361	173,021	11,957	161,064	108,266	67.22	52,798	32.78	30.7
Total	4,958,156	2,866,382	74,810	2,791,572	1,835,392	65.75	956,180	34.25	57.8

External links

• Chad Detailed Election Results