May 8, 2018

President Idriss Deby of Chad  has announced  his new cabinet, consisting mainly of his loyalists .

The new government, announced by decree late on Monday night, consists of 29 members, including eight women.

The formation of the new government comes a week after the promulgation of a new constitution which gives the president broader powers and abolishes the post of prime minister.

Most opposition lawmakers had boycotted the legislative vote.

Three days after the vote, Deby’s previous government resigned.

Deby, 65, came to power in 1991 and has ruled the country – the third poorest in the world, according to a UN index – since then with an iron fist.