N'DJAMENA (AFP) - Chad's supreme court on Thursday confirmed victory for President Idriss Deby Itno's ruling party in the country's first local elections, while noting "serious irregularities" in some cases.
In affirming provisional results from the February 7 elections, the court said Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) secured six of the 10 seats in the capital N'Djamena and also took control of second city Abeche.
The court cancelled the results in two districts of the capital, noting "serious irregularities", and ordered fresh elections held there within the next three months.
The main opposition coalition had alleged widespread electoral fraud.
The court's confirmation of the results gives the MPS an absolute majority in 19 out of 42 of the city's districts in which there were votes.
The ruling party also took control of the country's second city of Abeche, with almost 72 percent of the vote.
Opposition leader Yorongar Ngarlejy won more than half the vote in the southern, petrolium-rich region of Bebedjia. He also secured more than 71 percent in the southern town of Mondou.
Sixteen opposition groups have formed a coalition called the Coordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution.
The group's spokesman Saleh Kebzabo claimed there had been widespread fraud on election day, especially in the capital, and alleged the border with Cameroon had been left open and Cameroonians flooded into the country to vote.
The former secretary general of the MPS party, Mahamat Hissene, said: "These results confirm our establishment across the country," adding that he welcomed the "spirit of independence demonstrated by the supreme court."
No official figures were available on voter turnout, though the ballot in N'Djamena garnered little excitement.
Deby, who has ruled Chad since 1990, was re-elected in April 2011 with 83 percent of the vote. His MPS won an absolute majority in parliament two months earlier.
Around one million people were eligible to cast their ballots in the landmark elections.
Previously, mayors were appointed directly by the central government.
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