Touaderá: “It cannot be analyzed as a will of the President of the Republic to avoid political alternation”
May 30. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The President of the Central African Republic (RCA), Faustin-Archange Touadéra, announced this Tuesday during a speech to the nation that a constitutional referendum will be held to modify the 2016 Constitution after months of controversy over the current president’s will to attend a third term.
“To those who have reason to fear the advent of a new Constitution, I would like to assure you that the organization of a constitutional referendum cannot be analyzed as a will of the President of the Republic to avoid political alternation, guarantee of democracy and the rule of law “, has warned.
In this sense, Touadéra has affirmed in his speech, collected in its entirety by Radio Ndeke Luka, that the “alternation” will be carried out “always” through “free, democratic, transparent elections open to all citizens”.
Likewise, the president has affirmed that the current constitutional text “does not propose adequate solutions to the causes of the recurring political-military conflicts in the country” and does not affirm “clearly the sovereignty of the Central African State” nor its right to self-determination.
“RCA is experiencing profound change, disruption with destructive effects, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the environmental crisis caused by climate change, threats to global peace and security from terrorism, violent extremism, cross-border crime and radicalization. (All this) requires a deep reform of the State”, he assured.
His speech comes after the Central African opposition has denounced in recent weeks serious concerns about the possible holding of the referendum, alleging that changes to the text of the Constitution would be proposed to establish a lifetime presidency chaired by Touadéra.
The current Constitution prohibits the head of state from running for a third term. Touadéra was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, after controversial elections marked by the offensive by the rebels of the Patriots for Change Coalition (CPC) and the rejection of the results by the opposition.
