Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
In His Reaction, President Touadera Sacked The President Of The Constitutional Council, Appointed A Stooge To Replace Her, And On July 30, 2023 Organized A Controversial Referendum That Scrapped The Limitation Of The Mandate Of The President. What Prof Touadera Did, Raised The Question As To Whether African Intellectuals Can Be Any Different From ‘Dirty Politicians”, If Given Power.
Scathing verbal attacks and accusations were launched against the opposition in the Central African Republic, CAR, by the ruling party and government, as well as by President Faustin Archange Touadera’s very rude and aggressive supporters, for daring to accuse the President of scheming to illegally modify the 2016 Constitution, to scrap the limitation of the mandate of the President of the Republic, so as to hang on to power. But despite the verbal grenades that were incessantly launched against them, the opposition stood their ground.
The opposition in CAR also cried foul, that President Touadera’s creation of the Committee for the revision of the 2016 Constitution was illegal. The opposition went on to file a petition at the Constitutional Council against President Touadera’s illegal creation of the Committee to work a project for the revision of the 2016 Constitution.
In a courageous or landmark ruling on the matter in late September 2022, THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL DECLARED AS ILLEGAL, THE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE THAT CREATED THE COMMITTEE TO WORK ON THE PROJECT FOR THE REVISION OF THE 2016 CONSITITUTION OF CAR. The Constitutional Council explained that the country’s Constitution did not give the President of the Republic, powers to create such a committee. The landmark ruling in the Central Africa Sub – region, was daringly delivered by the President of the Constitutional Council of CAR, Prof Mrs Danielle Darlan, who doubled as a Senior Law Professor at the University of Bangui.
Worthy of note, that Prof Mrs Darlan and Prof Touadera used to be colleagues at the University of Bangui, before the latter became President of the Republic in 2016.
President Of Constitutional Council Accused Of Being Opposition
Meanwhile, President Faustin Archange Touadera and his Government felt embarrassed and humiliated by the decision of the Constitutional Council. They had seemingly assumed that as commonly happen in many African counties, especially in the Central African Sub – region, the Constitutional Council of CAR could not dare to rule against the position of the almighty President of the Republic.
As is also common in African countries, President Touadera’s supporters, after the ruling by the Constitutional Council immediately tagged the President of the Constitutional Council, Prof Mrs Danielle Darlan, of being an opposition. They also alleged that she was influenced by some foreign powers to take the decision, invalidating the presidential decree.
At the opening session of Parliament in early October 2022, the President of the National Assembly, a member of the ruling MCU Party, called on militants of the ruling party and other supporters of the President of the Republic, to stay calm over the decision of the Constitutional Council. There were indications that the Government was not willing to accept the decision of the Constitutional Council.
Touadera Sacks President Of Constitutional Council
Almost a month after the ruling of the Constitutional Council, President Touadera hit hard at the President of the Constitutional Council, Prof Mrs Danielle Darlan, his former colleague at the University of Bangui. President Touadera on October 24, 2022, signed a decree sacking the President of the Constitutional Council, Prof Danielle Darlan, as well as the Vice President of the Constitutional Council, Trinite Bango Sangafia. President Touadera used the ridiculous pretext that the two personalities were due retirement, and so they were simply put on retirement. Prof Mrs Darlan was also rapidly replaced as the representative of Higher Education in the Constitutional Council. President Touadera then went ahead to appoint stooges to the posts of President and Vice President of the Constitutional Council. Of course the new team did what Touadera wanted. That is, validated the decree that was signed by President Touadera, to create a Committee to work on a project for the revision of the 2016 Constitution. President Touadera a few months later announced the holding of a so- called referendum, on the revision of the 2016 Constitution, on July 30, 2023.
The President’s Campaign Message
President Touadera’s campaign message to the people of CAR as regard the July 30, 2023 referendum on the modification of the Constitution, read as follows: “Aujoud’hui, je veux lancer un appel aux fils et aux filles du pays. Le vote referndaire vous donne l’occasion de decider d’un avernir meilleur pour le pays. Ne laissez pas passer cette opportunite de cree une nouvelle republique a travers la Constitution”. The President in the message said he was launching a call on all sons and daughters of the Central African Republic, to know that the referendum was an occasion to decide on a better future for the country. He urged that they should not miss the opportunity to create a new republic through the revision of the Constitution.
Political observers and analysts definitely found it ironical, that President Touadera should talk of his project to modify the 2016 Constitution to enable him hang on to power, as a project to create a new republic and a better future for the Central African Republic. Rather, the President and his men were out to change the 2016 Constitution, which in reality was a project designed to transform CAR into a democratic country.
A Constitution That Was Designed For Democratic Country
The March 2016 Constitution, was done by the representatives of the people of CAR, with the collaboration or assistance of the United Nations. That is why the Constitution was so democratic, with limitation to the mandate of the President of the Republic, to a five year mandate, renewable only once. This meant that somebody could only be President of CAR, for a maximum of 10 years. The Constitution was also designed to ensure the independence of the judiciary, or the separation of power (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary), which is what does not exist in most African countries.
But then in 2022, President Faustin Archange Touadera, a former university don, who came to power pledging to respect and protect the 2016 Constitution, protect the independence of the judiciary, and that he would as well strive to work to promote democracy in CAR, instead flared up and fired the President and Vice President of the Constitutional Council, when the Council rightly ruled against his plan to illegally modify the 2016 Constitution.
It Finally Come To Pass – Controversial Referendum
Well, it finally came to pass that the main objective of President Touadera’s project to modify the 2016 Constitution of CAR, was to end the limitation of the mandate of the President of the country. Over 4 billion francs CFA, which is big money in the Central African Republic, was wasted to organize a so called referendum whose result was already prepared in advance, just like that of fake referendum that President Amadou Ahidjo illegally organized in Cameroon in 1972.
The controversial referendum which was President Touadera’s project for a “new Constitution” for the Central African Republic, took place on Sunday, July 30, 2023, and the provisional result of the referendum was made known on Sunday, August 6, 2023, by the institution in charge of organizing elections in CAR, ‘Autorite Natonale des Elections’, ANE. Statistics released by ANE showed that the total number of registered voters was 1.949.390 (One million, nine hundred and forty nine thousand, three hundred and ninety), while a total of 1.134.953 (One million, one hundred and thirty four thousand, nine hundred and fifty three) persons effectively voted, giving a 58.22 % participation rate of registered voters. The opposition rejected those statistics, and qualified the referendum as a masquerade.
Scandalous Results Also Meant To Ridicule Opposition
The provisional result which as expected was later confirmed by the Constitutional Council as the final result of the controversial referendum, showed that 95.21 % of the voters said YES to President Touadera’s project of a “New Constitution” for CAR, while barely 4.79 of the voters said NO to the modification of the constitution. This Soviet – type score in the election was definitely far from the reality. It was also certainly designed to ridicule the opposition parties in CAR that formed a bloc to defend the Constitution of the country, by opposing President Touadera’s move to modify the Constitution. The opposition had insisted that the referendum was illegal.
Three Major Changes In The Constitution.
Meanwhile, there were three major changes in the “new Constitution” of the Central African Republic, as compared to the 2016 Constitution. The three major changes were as follows:
1) The scraping of the limitation of the number of mandates, or terms, that somebody could be the President of the Central African Republic. As aforementioned, the 2016 Constitution fixed the maximum number of terms at two (two terms), meaning that somebody could not be President of CAR for more than two terms. But for President Touadera’s “new Constitution”, the mandate of the President of the Republic is unlimited. So the President can hang on to power for as many years as possible.
2) The length of the mandate of the President of the Republic is now 7 years, which means an increase of 2 years as compared to that in the 2016 Constitution, which was five years.
3) Nobody with dual or double nationality will be permitted to run for the office of President of the Central African Republic. So, all those CAR politicians and intellectuals, who took dual nationality status in Cameroon, as well as those in similar situation living in other countries, are disqualified from running for the office of President of CAR.
President Touadera – From A Democrat To A Dictator
And so the story goes that Prof Faustin Archange Touadera, the university don and African intellectual, who came to power in 2016 promising to uphold the Constitution, defend the independent judiciary, and promote democracy, in August 2022 started scheming to modify the Constitution, in a bid to hang on to power at all cost. He succeeded to organize a controversial referendum on July 30, 2023, to adopt his selfish ambition to illegally modify the 2016 Constitution at all cost, so as to eternalize his stay in power, like the leaders of the other undemocratic countries in the Central Africa Sub – region. This raised the question as to whether African intellectuals can be any different from “dirty politicians”, if given power.
