Court hears case to disqualify Central African Republic's president from December election

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BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — A constitutional court in the Central African Republic on Wednesday began hearings on a petition seeking to disqualify the country's leader from running in the upcoming December presidential election.

The petition filed by the Observatory for Democratic Governance, a civil society group, argued that President Faustin Archange Touadera should be disqualified on the grounds of not meeting the criteria for running for the presidency.

Elysée Nguimalé, president of the group, challenged the origin of the president’s name, claiming it suggests his family cannot be traced — a lineage requirement under the country’s constitution.

“The name Touadera in his mother tongue means a child abandoned by his maternal uncles,” Nguimalé said in his petition. He noted that the name, under Article 65 of the country’s Family Code, signifies that the father is unknown and that “since his father is unknown, his origin is ambiguous.”

It was not immediately clear whether the court will uphold the argument or how quickly a verdict will be reached.

Territorial Administration Minister Bruno Yapandé dismissed Nguimalé’s petition, calling it a tool intended to “sow confusion among the public.”

The final list of candidates for the election is yet to be published. The president is running for a third term, which would extend his rule into the second decade — a move made possible after scrapping term limits in 2023.

The court case comes as the government has refused to issue opposition leader Anicet Georges Dologuélé a passport, rendering him potentially stateless. The Dec. 28 election will take place while the country grapples with a persistent security crisis and as the president courts Russia for security guarantees.

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AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa