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| - Chad has set October 24, 2021 for its repeatedly delayed legislative election, state radio reported on Thursday. The parliamentary election, which has been postponed five times since 2015, is now scheduled to take place six months after April 11's presidential poll, the electoral commission announced on the radio. Allies of President Idriss Deby Itno, who has been in power for nearly 30 years, dominate the current National Assembly, which was elected to a four-year term in 2011. But Deby went on to postpone the poll five times, blaming the threat posed by Nigerian jihadists Boko Haram, a lack of funds in one of the world's most impoverished states, and finally the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year. Voters will be tasked with electing 166 MPs, compared to the parliament's current 188. The date of October 24, 2021 was announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Kodi Mahamat Bam, state radio reported. Deby has not yet said whether we will run for a sixth term in April. yas-gir/cma/sst/dl/jh
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