Succes Masra urges unity after Chad presidential pardon

Chad opposition leader Succes Masra has called for reconciliation with President Mahamat Idriss Deby after being released from prison under a presidential pardon.

“We need forgiveness, unity and peace,” Masra told hundreds of supporters at his Transformers party headquarters in N’Djamena on Saturday. “Gathered here today, we reaffirm to the entire nation our determination to build a reconciled Chad.”

Masra, a former prime minister, was released late Friday after more than a year in prison. He had been serving a 20-year sentence for incitement to hatred and complicity in murder after a trial that Human Rights Watch described as politically motivated.

A presidential decree published Friday granted pardons to Masra and eight other jailed opposition figures. The measure cancels their prison sentences but does not erase their convictions, meaning they retain criminal records and cannot run for office.

“My conviction is that we must work together. We are ready to start tomorrow morning,” Masra said. “They know that outside the government, we are the main political force. Nothing can be built in the future without us.”

Masra fled to Cameroon in late 2022 after a protest was violently suppressed by security forces, leaving many dead. He returned a year later under an agreement with the Chadian government and was later appointed prime minister.

He ran against Deby in the May 2024 election, finishing second with nearly 20 percent of the vote. Deby won around 60 percent in a poll contested and boycotted by much of the opposition.

Deby has led Chad since 2021, when he took power at the end of a military transition following the death of his father, longtime ruler Idriss Deby Itno. In October 2025, Chad adopted constitutional changes creating a renewable seven-year presidential term with no limit on re-election, a move Human Rights Watch said further weakened prospects for meaningful democratic change.