The prime minister of Chad's transitional government, Succès Masra, has announced his candidacy for the May 6 presidential election at a rally on Sunday, eight days after the transitional president, General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, announced his candidacy.
"I am running for president to heal hearts and unite the people," Masra, 40, told hundreds of activists from his Les Transformateurs party who urged him to run.
Mr. Masra, age 40, a former opposition figure, had signed a reconciliation agreement with Mr. Déby before he was appointed prime minister on January 1.
Responding to accusations that he had sided with the ruling military, he said reconciliation was a necessity for the good of the nation.
"It was an agreement of national reconciliation, an agreement of the brave, so that our search for justice will never turn into a search for revenge," he said.