Parliamentary elections were held in Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 in 1997, the first multi-party election since independence in 1960. The voting system

Voting system

A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum....

 was similar to that of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, using runoff voting

Two-round system

The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...

, with two separate rounds of voting, the first on 5 January and the second on 23 February in those constituencies where no candidate has gotten more than 50% at the first round.

The elections were won by the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement

Patriotic Salvation Movement

The Patriotic Salvation Movement is the ruling political party in Chad.After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his supporters, known as the April 1 Movement, operated from Sudan with Libyan backing...

 (MPS); but, according to credible reports, electoral fraud

Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...

, widespread vote rigging, and local irregularities marred these elections, as the 1996 presidential elections

Chadian presidential election, 1996

Presidential election were held in Chad on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. This was the first multiparty presidential election in the history of Chad since its independence. It occurred at the end of a long transitional process and was repeatedly delayed...

. Voter tutnout was 45.6% in the first round and 45.3% in the second.

Results

Party	First round		Second round		Seats
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Patriotic Salvation Movement Patriotic Salvation Movement The Patriotic Salvation Movement is the ruling political party in Chad.After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his supporters, known as the April 1 Movement, operated from Sudan with Libyan backing...  (MPS)	504,045	40.0	262,060	34.4	65
Union for Renewal and Democracy Union for Renewal and Democracy The Union for Renewal and Democracy is a political party in Chad. Its President is Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué.The party, which has always been based around Kamougué, was founded in March 1992 and legalized in May 1992...  (URD)	165,639	13.1	214,548	28.2	29
Rally for Democracy and Progress Rally for Democracy and Progress (Chad) The Rally for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Chad, led by Lol Mahamat Choua.The party was founded by Choua in December 1991 and was among the first batch of political parties to be legalized in March 1992....  (RDP)	84,372	6.7	13,140	1.7	3
National Union for Democracy and Renewal National Union for Democracy and Renewal The National Union for Democracy and Renewal is a political party in Chad, led by Saleh Kebzabo.In the 1997 parliamentary election, the UNDR won 15 out of 125 seats. In the parliamentary election held on 21 April 2002, the party won five out of 155 seats....  (UNDR)	76,156	6.0	63,549	8.3	15
Federation, Action for the Republic (FAR)	50,627	4.0	32,274	4.2	1
Union for Democracy and Republic Union for Democracy and Republic (Chad) The Union for Democracy and Republic is a Chadian political party founded in 1992. In March the party elected as its president Jean Alingué Bawoyeu, who had just left the position of Prime Minister. In the parliamentary election of 1997 the party took 4 seats and initially supported the president...  (UDR)	48,948	3.9	2,419	0.3	4
Party for Liberty and Development Party for Liberty and Development The Party for Liberty and Development is a Chadian political party led by Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh. An opposition party based in the Muslim and Arab east, it took three seats in the 1997 parliamentary election. The party boycotted the 2002 parliamentary election, as it voiced doubts of a free and...  (PLD)	33,344	2.6
3
UCD	25,603	2.0	18,764	2.5	0
Movement for Democracy and Socialism in Chad	21,874	1.7	25,764	3.4	0
Viva-National rally for Democracy and Progress	20,630	1.6	18,345	2.4	0
National Alliance for Democracy and Development National Alliance for Democracy and Development The National Alliance for Democracy and Development is a five-party coalition of Gambian opposition political parties.It was officially launched January 2005 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Democratic Action Movement , National Reconciliation Party ,...  (AND)	20,572	1.6	14,732	1.9	2
National Democratic and Social Convention National Democratic and Social Convention The National Democratic and Social Convention is a political party in Chad.At the last legislative elections, 21 April 2002, the party won according to IPU Parline 1 out of 155 seats....  (CNDS)	19,899	1.6	33,574	4.4	1
Convention for Democracy	15,226	1.2
0
Convention of Social-Democratic Chadians	15,223	1.2
0
Party for Unity and National Reconstruction	14,909	1.8	1,731	0.2	0
PLUS	14,488	1.1
0
National Union National Union (Chad) The National Union is a political party in Chad.At the last legislative elections, 21 April 2002, the party won according to IPU Parline 1 out of 155 seats....	14,274	1.1	17,133	2.2	0
African Party for Progress and Social Justice	12,875	1.0
0
National Democratic Rally of Chad	9,380	0.7
0
National Union for Democracy and Progress National Union for Democracy and Progress The National Union for Democracy and Progress can refer to:* National Union for Democracy and Progress * National Union for Democracy and Progress * National Union for Democracy and Progress...	8,847	0.7
0
Social Movement for Democracy in Chad	8,611	0.7
0
Union of Democratic Forces Union of Democratic Forces Union of Democratic Forces or Union of the Democratic Forces is the name of:*Union of Democratic Forces *Union of Democratic Forces *Union of Democratic Forces *Union of Democratic Forces...	8,252	0.6
0
Movement for Democracy in Chad	7,026	0.6
0
National Party of Democratic Renewal	6,355	0.5
0
Rally for Progress and Social Justice	6,282	0.5
0
National Union for the Renewal of Chad	6,242	0.5
0
RNDA	5,722	0.4
0
Democratic Union for the Progress of Chad	5,186	1.2
0
Action for Renewal of Chad Action for Renewal of Chad The Action for Renewal of Chad is a political party in Chad.At the last legislative elections, 21 April 2002, the party won according to IPU Parline 1 out of 155 seats....	4,666	0.4
0
Chadian Democratic Union Chadian Democratic Union The Chadian Democratic Union is the second African political party ever created in Chad. It's ancestor can be traced in the Mutuelle Amicale Tchadienne , created in 1945 under the impulse of Joseph Brahim Seid by Mahamat Yakouma, Mustapha Batran, Abdoulaye Touré, Souleymane Naye, Adoum Tchéré and...	4,324	1.2
0
Chadian People's Rally	3,891	0.3
0
Rally of Nationalist Chadians	2,516	0.2
0
National Movement of Democratic Renovators	2,516	0.2
0
PUNDTT	2,146	0.2
0
LINGUI	2,096	0.2	18,389	2.4	0
Action for Unity and Socialism Chadian Action for Unity and Socialism Chadian Action for Unity and Socialism is a communist political party in Chad, led by Fidèle Moungar. The party was founded in 1981.Moungar was chosen as Prime Minister in April 1993 by the Sovereign National Conference, but subsequently lost an October 1993 vote of no-confidence and resigned...  (ACTUS)	1,915	0.1	19,878	2.6	2
Rally of Democratic Forces of Chad	1,502	0.1
0
Social-Democratic Party of Chad	1,417	0.1	5,595	|0.7
Democratic Rally of Chad	1,172	0.1
0
Republican Front	678	0.1
0
Movement for Unity and Democracy in Chad	663	1.2
0
Democratic Party of Chad	453	0.0
0
National Union for Democracy and Development	380	0.0
0
Committee of National Revival for Peace and Democracy	354	0.0
0
Invalid/blank votes	106,391
25,378
Total	1,481,628	100	784,636	100	125
Source: Nohlen et al

External links

• Elections in Chad African Elections Database
• Parliamentary election of 1997 EISA