Chad 's new constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits is a serious setback for the rule of law and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today. The change paves the way for President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power indefinitely, further weakening the prospects for a meaningful, democratic change of government in line with international norms, including the rights to vote and political participation.
"By removing presidential term limits, Chad's authorities have dismantled an important safeguard against authoritarianism," said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of reinforcing democratic norms that allow for a competitive political field in periodic, free, and fair elections, the government has cemented the foundations of one-man rule."
On October 3, 2025, the president finalized the constitutional changes, which had been fast-tracked and approved by both chambers of the parliament after they were voted on in mid-September. The ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement patriotique du salut, or known as MPS), which dominates the National Assembly, overwhelmingly approved sweeping amendments to constitutional provisions that remove limits on presidential terms and lengthen each term from five to seven years. Some opposition lawmakers, however, boycotted the vote, describing the process as unconstitutional and illegitimate.
The government defended the reforms as "technical," but the changes legalize indefinite rule for Déby, who has held power since 2021 following the death of his father, former President Idriss Déby Itno, who had ruled Chad for 30 years.
The abolition of term limits also removes a key constitutional check that guarantees the peaceful transfer of power, Human Rights Watch said. Without this safeguard, one person and one party could dominate the presidency. The move follows a pattern of democratic backsliding across Central Africa, where governments have used constitutional amendments to entrench their rule, a trend analysts refer to as "constitutional coups." This is despite the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, to which Chad is a party, and which states that "any amendment or revision of the constitution … which is an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government" is an "illegal means of … maintaining power" that should be sanctioned. In Chad, where opposition parties and civil society already face government harassment and intimidation, the change further solidifies MPS rule.
In the run-up to April 2021 elections, held just before the late Déby Itno's death, security forces violently dispersed peaceful opposition protests in N'Djamena on several occasions, firing tear gas, beating protesters, and arbitrarily arresting opposition members and civil society activists.
Following Déby Itno's death, the military, which was led by Mahamat Idriss Déby, seized control of the country.
While military authorities promised a transition to democracy after the takeover, instead they followed a familiar script of consolidating power and restricting political freedoms, Human Rights Watch said. The military transition following Déby Itno's death should never have occurred. According to Chad's then-constitution, adopted in 2018, in the event of the death of a president, the president of the National Assembly should provisionally lead the country for 45 to 90 days before organizing a new election.
Violence came to a head in October 2022 when protesters demanded a transition to civilian rule. Security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing scores, and arrested hundreds before sending them to the maximum-security Koro Toro prison in the north.
After deadly inter-communal clashes in the Logone Occidental Province, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Succès Masra was arrested in N'Djamena in May 2025 on various charges, including incitement of hatred and complicity in violence. Following a politically motivated trial, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and fined one billion CFA francs. He remains in detention today.
Instead of learning from history, Chad's leaders are rewriting and repeating the same mistakes that have kept the country trapped in cycles of authoritarianism, Human Rights Watch said.
This is not the first time Chad has abolished term limits. The late Déby Itno had scrapped term limits in 2005, allowing him to remain in office until his death. In 2018, a two-term limit was reinstated but with an increase of each term from five to six years. The late president was allowed to run for those two additional terms until his death. His son's move to remove limits again, only seven years after they were reinstated, underscores how constitutional manipulation has become a tool for perpetuating a hold on power.
The Chadian authorities should consider reinstating presidential term limits and ensure that any constitutional reform process is transparent and inclusive. Opposition leaders who boycotted the parliamentary vote have requested a referendum to ensure popular support for the changes. A similar referendum was held in 2023 to approve a new constitution, ending military rule.
Authorities should also immediately end politically motivated prosecutions, release political opposition leaders like Masra, and guarantee freedom of expression and assembly.
"Repression has become routine in Chad and now the constitution itself is being rewritten to further corrode citizens' rights," Mudge said. "With no credible mechanism for leadership turnover, other institutions like the parliament, the judiciary, and the press lose their ability to act as effective checks on executive power."
