The Patriotic Salvation Movement is the ruling political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in 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...

.

After 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:...

, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré

Hissène Habré

Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...

 in 1989, fled to Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, he and his supporters, known as the April 1 Movement, operated from Sudan with Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

n backing and carried out attacks across the border into Chad. The MPS was founded in Sudan on March 10, 1990 through the merger of the April 1 Movement with other anti-Habre groups in exile. After a successful offensive in November 1990, Déby and the MPS came to power on December 2, 1990, when their forces entered 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...

, the Chadian capital.

Déby was the MPS candidate in the 1996 presidential election

Chadian presidential election, 1996

Presidential election were held in Chad on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. This was the first multiparty presidential election in the history of Chad since its independence. It occurred at the end of a long transitional process and was repeatedly delayed...

 and won in a second round. He was again the MPS candidate in the presidential election

Chadian presidential election, 2001

A presential election was held in Chad on May 20, 2001. President Idriss Déby stood as a candidate for a second term. He obtained the support of a former opponent, Lol Mahamat Choua, leader of the Rally for Democracy and Progress ....

 of 20 May 2001, receiving 63.2 % of the vote. In the parliamentary election

Chadian parliamentary election, 2002

The Chadian parliamentary election of 2002 was the second multi-party parliamentary election since the independence of Chad, and came after the normal expiry of the mandate of the National Assembly's deputies...

 held on 21 April 2002, the MPS won according to IPU Parline 113 out of 155 seats. In the May 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...

, Déby was re-elected with 64.7% of the vote.