The Last Hope To Have A Democratic Country In Central African Sub–Region, Fades Out

The Last Hope To Have A Democratic Country In Central African Sub–Region, Fades Out

President Touadera of CAR forces through an illegal referendum to scrap limitation on the mandate of President of the Republic

The duration of a mandate will also be extended from 5 to 7 years

Last year Touadera sacked the President of the Constitutional Council who ruled that the planned referendum was illegal

The move by President Touadera, a professor and former lecturer at the University of Bangui , to hang on to power at all cost, raises the question as to if African intellectuals can be different if given power in their different countries

The United Nations sacrificed billions to try to lay a foundation for CAR to be a democratic country, but the whole efforts have gone in vain

Central African Sub – region holds the shameful record of having the first two longest serving Presidents in the world

From 2016, there was some hope that a bright spot of democracy could appear in the dark Central African Sub –Region. The hope was on the Central African Republic, CAR.
Burt in an article in November 2022, I cried out as an African, more so of the Central African Sub region, that the hope was unfortunately under serious threat by the unbridled selfish ambition of the President of the Central African Republic, Prof Faustin Archange Touadera, a university don, who many people as well as the United Nations, had thought would not be like the others in the sub – region. The university don, precisely a former lecturer at the University of Bangui in CAR, who was propelled from the classroom to the Presidential Palace in Bangui, CAR, with the pledged to uphold the Constitution and promote democracy, was trying to jump off the rail of democracy.
I cried out that President Touadera whom the international community had hoped would strive make his country the bright spot of democracy in a dark Central African Sub –region, had apparently been infected by the chronic disease of the other leaders in the sub –region, who have transformed themselves into monarchs and have been hanging on in power for decades.
President Touadera that is also the current President of CEMAC, and who is supposed to be in his second and last mandate as President of the Central African Republic, was from all indications in the second half of last year scheming to organize a controversial referendum to scrap the limitation on the mandate of the President of the Republic. But some of the President’s men kept lashing out at critics whom they termed detractors and agents of some western powers. They said those claiming that the Government Project for a new Constitution was meant to scrap the limitation on the mandate of the President of the Republic, were of bad faith, because according to them the draft of the new Constitution had by then not even been drawn up.
It Has Finally Come To Pass
Well, it has finally come to pass that the main objective of President Touadera’s project to modify the current Constitution of CAR that was adopted barely in March 2016, is to end the limitation in the mandate of the President of the country. Over 4 billion francs CFA which is big money for a country like 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 Ahidjo illegally organized in Cameroon in 1972.
The controversial referendum which was on 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.

Scandalous Results Also Meant To Ridicule Opposition
The provisional result released by ANE last Sunday, also showed that 95.21 % of the voters said YES to the 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 is definitely far from the reality. It was also certainly designed to put to ridicule the opposition parties in CAR that formed a block 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.
After the release of the provisional results, the Constitutional Council of the Central African Republic has 15 days to officially proclaim the results of the referendum. Political observers however do not expect any change in the provisional result released by ANE.
Worthy of note that the present Constitution of the Central African Republic, does not give the President of Republic powers to create a committee to work on a project to revise the Constitution. As we will see later in this analysis, the President of the Constitutional Council of CAR, that courageously ruled that the President of the Republic of CAR did not have powers to create a committee to work on a project to modify the Constitution, was dismissed by President Touadera, who appointed a stooge to replace her.

Three Major Changes In The New Constitution
Meanwhile there are three major changes in the new Constitution of the Central African Republic as compared to the current Constitution. The three major changes are as follows: 1) The scraping of the limitation on the number of mandates or terms that somebody can be President of the Republic. The present Constitution fixes the maximum number of terms at two (two terms), meaning that somebody cannot be President of CAR for more than two terms. So the mandate can only be renewed once,. But the new Constitution will permit a President to be able to hang on to power for as many years as possible, even for as long as 40 years as we have in Cameroon.
2) The length of the mandate of the President of the Republic will be 7 years, which means an increase of 2 years as compared to the current mandate which five years. 3) Nobody with dual or double nationality will be permitted to run for the office of President of the Central African Republic.

Copying Bad Examples From Elders
There is no doubt that the situation in the other counties in the Central African Sub – region, contributed to change Prof Faustin Archange Touedera of CAR, who on coming to office as President of the Republic had pledged to uphold the Constitution and to promote democracy. There is no question that the Central African Sub –region is a very dark spot in the World’s democracy. There is no limitation on the mandate of the President of the Republic in all the other five countries. That is Cameroon, Chad, Congo Republic (Brazzaville), Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Presidents have all transformed themselves into monarchs, and have been hanging in power for decades. Also the most backward sub –region in Africa in terms of development, the Central Africa Sub –region is the uncontested champion when it shamefully comes to presidents that have hung on in power the longest.

First Two Longest Serving Presidents
In fact the first two longest serving presidents in the world are in the Central African Sub –region. The first is 80 years old President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea who has been in power since 1979. He was ‘re-elected’ for another seven year mandate, at the last presidential election which took place on November 20, 2022. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo as usual, registered another Soviet –type score in election, ‘winning’ the election by 94.7 % score.
Meanwhile the second longest serving President in the world who is also from the Central African Sub – region, is President Paul Biya of Cameroon. The 90 year old President came to power in 1982, even after having been Prime Minister. Biya’s current mandate will end in 2025 when he will be 92 years old. But even so, the President is at this stage still evasive on the issue of his long overdue retirement, which many people think should be in 2025.

The Long Road From Darkness To Light
It would be recalled that the Central African Republic was for several years plunged into a state of instability, chaos and bloodshed caused by the presence of over a dozen rebel groups led by warlords who all wanted to rule the country at all cost. Suffice to say following the strong military intervention of France, as well as the strong and highly costly intervention of the United Nations with large number of peace keeping forces, some order was finally restored in the country, especially in the nation’s capital, Bangui. This of course took a number of years, during which period the Mayor of Bangui was designated as the Interim President of the country.

University Don Becomes President
The presidential election that finally came up was co –organised and supervised by local administration and the United Nations. The election was won by Prof Faustin Ange Touadera, a lecturer at the University of Bangui, CAR. The university don, who was not one of those old politicians around, was considered more as somebody from the civil society, and as a democratic, and thus a break from the ugly past of dirty politics in the Central African Republic.
President Touadera in fact started off well and thus signaled a glimmer of hope that a bright spot of democracy was finally to appear in the dark Central Africa Sub -region. At the end of the first five year mandate, a presidential election was organised in the country, though the election could not take place in some parts of the country due to insecurity. President Touadera was re-elected for what was supposed to his second and last mandate, in line with the Constitution of the Country.
Later a video appeared on the social media, showing President Touadera back in a classroom at the University of Bangui, teaching mathematics. The President said in the video that he would be coming around to teach, whenever there was some little time in his tight work programme. The video went viral on social media, with many people hailing the President. Many thought that Prof Touadera was already preparing for life after the Presidency. Many people thus thought that Prof Touadera will not be like many African leaders who transform themselves into monarchs, by hanging on to power.

President Touadera Infected!
But then came 2022, and President Touadera unfortunately started changing. It looked like he had been infected by the chronic disease of Presidents in the Central Africa Sub – region, that do everything to hang on to power. Also, in the typical style of African leaders that want to hang on to power, the Government of CAR secretly mobilized thousands of people comprised mostly of students, who massively jammed the streets in a peaceful march, ‘calling’ for the modification of the Constitution to scrap the limitation on the mandate of the President of the Republic.
Participants in the march sang it out that Prof Touadera as President of the Republic was the best thing that had ever happened to CAR, and that he was a God – sent leader that could guarantee the effective return of peace, stability as well as economic growth to the country. They said the biggest error that the Central African Republic could make, was to allow President Touadera to leave power. Supporters of the regime referred to the limitation of the mandate of the President of the Republic (Prof Touadera), as an obstacle to the development and reestablishment of peace and stability in the Central African Republic. Terrible!
The Opposition Cries Foul
On their part, the opposition in Central African Republic cried foul, and said that the march was a manipulation organized by the Government of President Touadera, that was scheming to have the Constitution modified to scrap the limitation on the mandate of the President of the Republic, so as to enable him hang on to power. The opposition parties came together and created the ‘Bloc Republicain pour la Defense de la Constitution’, roughly translated as, Republican Block for the Defense of the Constitution. So to the opposition, the call for the end of the limitation on the mandate of the President of CAR was nothing but a strategy to enable President Touadera, who is in his second and last mandate, to stay on in power.
The opposition’s strong criticism of the march, provoked the wrath militants of the ruling party and those referred to as President Touadera supporters, including some journalists, who poured invectives on the opposition, especially the opposition leaders. Opposition leaders were branded as western puppets, unpatriotic citizens, useless politicians, corrupt and hungry politicians, and even bandits, and so forth. Terrible! Tension mounted in the country.

Committee To Revive Constitution
President Touadera initially stayed silent, pretending as if he was not behind what his supporters were doing. Then on August 26, 2022, the President signed a decree creating a Committee to work on a project to revive the Country’s Constitution. The President said that a referendum would be orgainised to vote on the revised Constitution.
It should be noted, as aforementioned, that the current and relatively new Constitution of the Central African Republic CAR, under which Prof Faustin Touadera came to power, was adopted on March 30, 2016. But the President and his supporters from last year started trying to discredit the current Constitution, claiming that it is a Constitution that dates back to 1959.
The United Nations was highly involved in CAR by the time the current Constitution was being drawn up. In drawing up the Constitution, note was taken of the unfortunate fact that many of those that come to power in Africa, manipulate or modify the Constitution to scrap the limitation on the mandate of the President of the country, so as to hang on in power. So measures were taken in the new Constitution that was adopted in 2016, to ensure that the person to come to power in CAR after the long period of serious crisis and bloodshed, should not have the power to be able to cause the modification of the Constitution in a bid to hang on to power. Thus there is no provision in the current Constitution of CAR that that a referendum can be organized to modify the term of office of the President of the Republic.
Unfortunately, Prof Touadera, the university don and African intellectual who came to power promising to uphold the Constitution and promote democracy, in August 2022 started flagrantly violating the Constitution in a bid to hang on to power at all cost. This raises the question as to whether African intellectuals can be different if given power.

Constitutional Council’s Ruling Against President Touadera’s Decree
Meanwhile the opposition in CAR again cried foul, arguing that President Touadera’s creation of the committee to revive the 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 do a revision of the Constitution.
In a ruling on the matter in late September 2022, THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL DECLARED AS ILLEGAL THE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE THAT CREATED THE COMMITTEE TO REVISE THE CONSITITUTION. 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 African Sub – region, was daringly delivered by the President of the Constitutional Council of CAR, Mrs Danielle Darlan, a Law Professor at the University of Bangui.

President Of Constitutional Council Accused Of Being Opposition
President Touadera and his Government felt embarrassed and humiliated by the decision of the Constitutional Council. They had seemingly assumed that as happen in many African counties, especially in the Central African Sub – region, the Constitutional Council of CAR could not dare to rule against position of the almighty President of the Republic.
And as is common in African politics, Touadera’s supporters 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 called on militants of the ruling party and supporters of the Government, to stay calm over the decision of the Constitutional Council. But 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 Dannielle Darlan, both of whom were colleagues (lecturers) 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 being put on retirement. Prof 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.
The President’s Campaign Message
Meanwhile 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 gives them 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 Constitution.
Political observers and analysts should definitely have found it ironical, that President Touadera should talk of his project to modify the 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 are out to change March 2016 Constitution, that in reality was a project designed to transform CAR into a democratic country. That Constitution is the way it is, because it was not done under the command of a sitting President, to suit or dance to his selfish ambition.

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 of the United Nations. That is why the Constitution is democratic, with limitation to the mandate of the President of the Republic. The Constitution was also designed to ensure the independence of the judiciary, which is what does not exist in almost all African countries.
Touadera’s Constitution is going to change everything. It is going to turn the country towards a dictatorship. We saw a President Touadera get very angry and vindictive, when the Constitutional Council ruled that his decree to create a committee to modify the Constitution was illegal. But the ruling that was delivered by the President of the Constitutional Council was simply based on what the Constitution says. We see that happens in democratic countries, without any people being sacked or victimized.
But in CAR, President Touadera who came to power pledging to respect and protect the Constitution , and well as promote democracy, instead flared up and fired the President and Vice President of the Constitutional Council, under the pretext that they were due retirement. He then appointed his stooges to replace them. That is the type of new republic that President Touadera wants for the Central African Republic through his own Constitution. Ignominious indeed!

President Touadera Is A Big Disappointment
Prof Faustin Archange Touadera had become a big disappointment and embarrassment to many people in CAR as well as to the international community, that thought he would be different from the other Presidents in the Central African Sub –region, notorious for hanging to power at all cost. As aforementioned, this has again raised the question as to whether African intellectuals can be any different if they get to power. The hope that CAR under President Touadera could established itself as the lone star or source of hope for democracy in the dark Central African Sub –region, has so unfortunately and ignominiously been extinguished by Touadera himself.
A man that many people, as well as the United Nations that had spent billions to try to restore some order in CAR, thought would be different. But helas! And so the only hope that a bright spot of democracy could appear in the Central Africa Sub –Region was on the Central African Republic, CAR. But unfortunately the hope has now faded away because of the unbridled selfish ambitions of a President and his regime in CAR. So bad!