Awwal 10, 1432, Feb 13, 2011, SPA-- Parliamentary elections in the Central African country Chad ran peacefully on Sunday and appeared to be democratic, an EU observer said, according to dpa. "The mood is good and peaceful, there is no violence," Louis Michel, head of the European Union's observer mission to the oil- producing nation said. "In some polling stations there is a lack of material and organization," he added. "However it seems that these are fair, democratic and transparent elections." Results are not expected for at least a week, according to the election commission. The elections have seen the opposition challenging President Idriss Deby's ruling party for the first time since 2002. Deby's political opponents boycotted the presidential poll in 2006, but they are looking to challenge the authority of the man who came to power in a 1990 coup. The presidential election will be held later this year. The president's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) won a firm majority in the last legislative elections, which took place in 2002 and were described as flawed by observers. Observers and even the opposition acknowledge another victory for the MPS is likely. "This is the first time we can hope for transparent elections," head of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal, Saleh Kebzabo, said. "I dont think we will get the majority, but we can hopefully double the results of the opposition." Kebzabo and other opposition figures accuse the MPS of using money from Chad's approximate 115,000 barrels of oil per day output only to fund the military, leaving the impoverished nation underdeveloped. A foreign observer in Niger for the elections said the fragmented opposition - there are more than 100 parties and coalitions - had little chance of turning that message into votes. "The (opposition) parties obviously did not have an equal chance from the beginning," he said on condition of anonymity. "The ruling party has more resources, is supported by industry and also used state resources. I expect they will easily get an absolute majority." This year's elections are a key plank of an accord signed by the ruling party in opponents in August 2007 to foster democracy. There have already been allegations of irregularities. The head of the electoral commission was sacked following accusations by an opposition coalition he fraudulently added eight names to the list of candidates, under Deby's instructions. Some 4.8 million people are registered to vote. Deby's regime has been threatened by rebel groups, including a 2008 assault on the capital aimed at deposing the president. There has been relative calm recently, and Chad has now mended fences with neighbouring Sudan, with whom it was fighting a proxy war through respective rebel groups. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of them from Sudan's restive Darfur province, remain in camps in eastern Chad.
