Chad’s interim leader, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, has appointed long-time opposition figure Succès Masra as the country’s new prime minister.
Mr. Masra, who previously criticized the military-led government, returned from exile in November of last year and supported the recent constitutional referendum led by Gen. Itno.
According to Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo, Chad’s new secretary-general of the presidency, Mr. Masra will serve during the transition to civilian rule.
He had left the country with other opposition leaders after last year’s demonstrations against military rule were violently suppressed.
Mr. Masra, the president of The Transformers party, signed a reconciliation agreement with Chad’s military government in October of last year.
He pledged to continue engaging in dialogue in order to achieve a peaceful political resolution. However, several other opposition politicians from Chad, who are currently in exile, criticized the agreement.
They claimed that it included an amnesty for those who were involved in the killing of demonstrators the previous year.
