In a country where the regionalist vote is a major factor to be reckoned with, Deby is going to vie, for the first time, with an opponent who is a fellow northerner, Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh. However, Deby has an edge over his opponents because he can count on achievements while in power over the years. All along his campaign, Deby has pointed to his achievements, especially the launching of oil and gold exploitation sites at Doba, that however, do not prevent Chad from being among the poorest countries in the world. N'djamena, the capital, offers the very image of what a quasi-permanent state of war can produce as negative. In N'djamena is like a village is in the city which seems to be fixed in the past.
Most buildings date back to colonial days or the early days of independence.
Tarred roads are rare and houses are built out mud bricks, showing how Chadian leaders preoccupied themselves with making war than building their nation. The election campaign exposed the weaknesses of the opponents of Deby who seemed to be short of ideas to get the country out of its backwardness. But in the face of the paucity of the programmatic arguments of his challengers, it would not be a surprise to see gaining another mandate as President of Chad.