Succès Masra

In November 2020, Déby announced he would stand as a candidate in the 2021 presidential election, running for his sixth consecutive term.[5] Masra publicly objected to Déby's candidacy, citing the Chadian constitution of 2018, which stated that presidential terms would last for six years and would be renewable only once.[6][7] Masra subsequently made his own application to run as a candidate; his application was rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission, who stated that Les Transformateurs was not an officially registered political party.[2][8] Following this, Masra took part in protests with which were violently suppressed by Chadian forces, leading to Masra seeking refuge in the United States' embassy in N'Djamena for six days due to fears for his safety.[6]

On 16 March 2021, Masra met with Déby, and called on him to postpone the election to organise an inclusive national dialogue between Déby; his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement; and opposition parties and organisations.[8] Déby declined the postponement, and went on to win the election with 79.32% of the vote; Le Monde described the election as being "illegitimate" due to widespread irregularities.[9]

On 20 April 2021, Déby's death was publicly announced, with an army spokesperson stating that he had died of gunshot-related injuries while commanding the Chad National Army against Front for Change and Concord in Chad rebels near Nokou, as part of the Northern Chad offensive.[10] That same day, the government and constitution of Chad were dissolved, and aTransitional Military Council (TMC), a military junta led by Déby's son, Mahamat Déby, was announced.[11] Masra called the dissolution of the government a "coup d'état", and called for an end of the Déby regime and associated cronyism, and for a turn towards democracy.[6]

In May 2022, protests took place in N'Djamena against the presence of French troops in the country; France, a former coloniser of Chad, was accused of propping up the TMC junta.[12] Les Transformeurs, alongside the civil society group Wakit Tamma, backed the protests, which were suppressed by the government, leading to the deaths of at least twelve people.[13]

After the TMC announced its intention to enter into dialogue with opposition groups, Masra and Les Transformateurs, alongside Wakit Tama, established a set of preconditions that would need to be agreed before any dialogue took place. These included guarantees that a referendum would be held on any new constitution; that members of the military would not run in the next presidential election; and that there would be a clear separation of the government and the military.[14][15] By August 2022, Les Transformeurs and Wakit Tama had announced that they would not partake in dialogue planned for the following month; Masra stated that he believed that the preconditions could be too easily annulled by the TMC.[16]

On 1 September 2022, Masra organised demonstrations in N'Djamena to protest the commencement of dialogue between the TMC and opposition groups. 91 activists were subsequently arrested for "disturbing public order" and non-compliance with laws around demonstrations on public roads; many activists fled to Les Transformeurs' headquarters, which were subsequently blockaded by the police.[17][18] Further demonstrations against the blockade of Les Transformateurs led to the arrests of at least 200 more activists, which triggered the Catholic Church in Chad to withdraw from the dialogue with the TMC, with several other organisations threatening to drop out should the blockade not be lifted. The activists were released after several days following the intervention of the Burkinabé diplomat Djibril Bassolé.[19][20]

In a speech during the protests, Masra told Chadians to "expect the worst"; he was subsequently summoned to appear in court in response to his statement. On his journey to the court, he was accompanied by over a thousand activists, who were dispersed by the police; an estimated 300 activists were arrested, with around 1000 injured. The TMC's actions were criticised by the International Federation for Human Rights, the African Union and European Union, the governments of the United States, Germany and France, and Idriss Déby's party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement. In response to the international outcry, Masra's court summons was cancelled.[21][22]

In October 2022, protests broke out around Chad after Déby publicly announced his intention to extend his rule by a further two years, rather than transferring power to a civilian government as he had originally promised.[23] The TMC's violent response to the protests led to the deaths of at least 50 protestors; Masra put the figure at least 70, with over a thousand tortured or injured.[24] Following the protests, Masra went into hiding and subsequently fled to Cameroon before settling in the United States.[25][26][27] In his absence, Les Transformateurs' registration was suspended by the TMC, before it was reinstated in January 2023.[28]

On 11 August 2023, Masra announced his intention to return to Chad by 18 October 2023, ahead of the 2023 constitutional referendum. Subsequent posts on social media revealed that the N'Djamena Court of Appeal had issued a previously unknown international arrest warrant against Masra in June 2023, accusing him of "inciting hatred and revolt" and attempting to "undermine constitutional order".[26][29] Human Rights Watch stated Chad's transitional government threatening an exiled opposition leader with arrest demonstrated that "fundamental freedoms are still very much at risk" in the country ahead of the referendum.[29]

On 16 October 2023, Masra announced he was delaying his return to Chad, stating "increasing threats" from the Transitional Military Council.[30]