A constitutional referendum was held in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

on 6 June 2005. The amendments to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

were approved by 66% of voters.

Background

The proposed amendments to the constitution included the removal of two-term limit on the President, the replacement of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

with a Cultural, Economic and Social Council, and giving the President powers to amend the constitution. The amendments were proposed by incumbent

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...

, 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 The Patriotic Salvation Movement (, MPS; ) is the ruling political party in Chad. History After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his sup ...

(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 abstentionists 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 The Rally for the Republic – Lingui () is a political party of Chad. At the 2002 parliamentary election it won 1 out of 155 seats. References Political parties in Chad {{DEFAULTSORT:Rally for the Republic - Lingui ...

Results

By region

Aftermath

The constitutional amendment allowed Déby to contest the 2006 presidential elections, in which he won a third term.

References

{{Chadian elections

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Referendums in Chad Constitutional referendums