section_path: Government and politics
section_name: Government and politics
paragraph_text: Government and politics
  
  Chad's constitution provides for a strong executive branch headed by a president who dominates the political system. The president has the power to appoint the prime minister and the cabinet, and exercises considerable influence over appointments of judges, generals, provincial officials and heads of Chad's para-statal firms. In cases of grave and immediate threat, the president, in consultation with the National Assembly, may declare a state of emergency. The president is directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in 2005, constitutional term limits were removed, allowing a president to remain in power beyond the previous two-term limit. Most of Déby's key advisers are members of the Zaghawa ethnic group, although southern and opposition personalities are represented in government.
  
  Chad's legal system is based on French civil law and Chadian customary law where the latter does not interfere with public order or constitutional guarantees of equality. Despite the constitution's guarantee of judicial independence, the president names most key judicial officials. The legal system's highest jurisdictions, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council, have become fully operational since 2000. The Supreme Court is made up of a chief justice, named by the president, and 15 councillors, appointed for life by the president and the National Assembly. The Constitutional Court is headed by nine judges elected to nine-year terms. It has the power to review legislation, treaties and international agreements prior to their adoption.
  
  The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of 155 members elected for four-year terms who meet three times per year. The Assembly holds regular sessions twice a year and can hold special sessions when called by the prime minister. Deputies elect a National Assembly president every two years. The president must sign or reject newly passed laws within 15 days. The National Assembly must approve the prime minister's plan of government and may force the prime minister to resign through a majority vote of no confidence. However, if the National Assembly rejects the executive branch's programme twice in one year, the president may disband the Assembly and call for new legislative elections. In practice, the president exercises considerable influence over the National Assembly through his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), which holds a large majority.
  
  Until the legalisation of opposition parties in 1992, Déby's MPS was the sole legal party in Chad. Since then, 78 registered political parties have become active. In 2005, opposition parties and human rights organisations supported the boycott of the constitutional referendum that allowed Déby to stand for re-election for a third term amid reports of widespread irregularities in voter registration and government censorship of independent media outlets during the campaign. Correspondents judged the 2006 presidential elections a mere formality, as the opposition deemed the polls a farce and boycotted them.
  
  Chad is listed as a failed state by the Fund for Peace (FFP). Chad had the seventh-highest rank in the Fragile States Index in 2021. Corruption is rife at all levels; Transparency International 's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021 ranked Chad 164th among the 180 countries listed. Critics of former President Déby had accused him of cronyism and tribalism.
  
  In southern Chad, bitter conflicts over land are becoming more common. They frequently turn violent. Long-standing community culture is being eroded – and so are the livelihoods of many farmers.
  
  Longtime Chad President Idriss Déby 's death on 20 April 2021 resulted in both the nation's National Assembly and government being dissolved and national leadership being replaced with a transitional military council consisting of military officers and led by his son Mahamat Kaka. The constitution is currently suspended, pending replacement with one drafted by a civilian National Transitional Council, yet to be appointed. The military council has stated that elections will be held at the end of an 18-month transitional period. According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Chad is 16th lowest ranked electoral democracy worldwide and 4th lowest ranked electoral democracy in Africa.