20110426
reuters

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadians voted on Monday in an election almost guaranteed to secure President Idriss Deby a fourth term in office, as his main rivals boycotted the race.

There were delays in opening some polling stations and reaction to an opposition call for a boycott was mixed. Many people voted early, partly to avoid 40-Celsius heat later.

Polling stations were largely empty by early afternoon but no figures were available for the turnout among the 5 million registered voters. Results are not expected for about a week.

Deby has ruled the central African state, which produces around 115,000 barrels of oil a day, since seizing power in a 1990 coup and winning three subsequent elections.

"We have come to give our vote of confidence for Deby for all he has done for the country," said Ahmat Saboun, who voted in the Djambal Barh neighbourhood.

"We are ignoring the opposition," Saboun added, referring to Deby's rivals, who have rejected the validity of the poll after the government threw out their request to revamp the voter register.

Opposition leaders Abdelkader Wadal Kamougue, Ngarledjy Yorongar and Saleh Kebzabo said thousands of unattributed voter cards from a February 13 legislative poll, won by Deby and his allies, were still in circulation and could be fraudulently used on April 25.

"We cannot possibly sanction this masquerade," Kamougue said on Monday. Deby now faces only two minor candidates in the poll.