President seeks to extend his rule

Central African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadera said he would run for a third term later this year, seeking to extend his rule into a second decade after scrapping term limits in 2023, according to SABC News. ‘Many of you have asked for me, and my answer is yes. I am your candidate for the Presidential election of December 2025,’ the 68-year-old said at a meeting of his party, the United Hearts Movement. Since taking office in 2016, Touadera has enlisted outside forces to stay in power amid a persistent civil conflict, including mercenaries from Russia's Wagner militia, who intervened in 2018 on the side of the government. Landlocked Central African Republic, roughly the size of France and with a population of around 5.5m, is deeply impoverished despite being rich in resources including gold, diamonds and timber. It has witnessed waves of instability, including coups and rebellions, since its independence from France in 1960. Touadera won a second term in 2020, though militants, including the Coalition of Patriots for Change, have fought to overturn that result.

Full SABC News report