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A constitutional referendum was held in Chad on 6 June 2005. The amendments to the constitution were approved by 66% of voters.
Contents
Background
The proposed amendments to the constitution included the removal of two-term limit on the President, the replacement of the Senate with a Cultural, Economic and Social Council and giving the President powers to amend the constitution.
The amendments were proposed by incumbent President Idriss Déby, who was due to complete his second term in 2006. In June 2001 Déby had promised to step down after his second term, stating: 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.
Campaign
While Dèby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) campaigned for "yes", the opposition was divided among those who called for a boycott of 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), an alliance of 24 parties including the Rally for Democracy and Progress and the Union for Renewal and Democracy. The parties that campaigned for a "no" vote included the Front of Action Forces for the Republic and the Rally for the Republic – Lingui.
Results
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?
Aftermath
The constitutional amendment allowed Déby to contest the 2006 presidential elections, in which he won a third term.