Politics

Opposition coalition in Central Africa Republic calls for boycott of planned referendum

Published

1 year ago

July 28, 2023

Opposition parties in the Central African Republic are alleging that the country’s planned referendum scheduled for Sunday is a plot to enhance the continued stay in office of President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

The Republican Bloc for the Protection of the Constitution, an opposition alliance, has urged citizens to abstain from voting and remain home.

The opposition party, the Union for Central African Renewal, also issued a statement urging the entire populace to abstain from taking part in what they referred to as massive fraud, desist from voting, and freely go about their Sunday activities.

Vice President of the National Assembly and referendum campaign manager, Evariste Ngamana stated on Thursday that 80% of voters had been mobilized and urged them to vote “yes.”

The country’s current constitution came into force in late 2004. Under the 2004 law, the president is head of state and limited to two consecutive five-year terms. The constitution also provides for a prime minister, a council of ministers, and a 105-member National Assembly.

The government, two weeks ago, confirmed that troops of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, were on the ground ahead of the constitutional referendum which could remove a two-term presidential limit, allowing President Touadera to seek a third term having been first elected in 2016, and be re-elected in 2020.

Since gaining independence in 1960, the nation of 5.5 million people, which is endowed with gold, diamonds, and timber, has struggled to establish stability. Touadera sought assistance from Russia to combat rebel groups that control major portions of the country.

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.