In what one opposition leader dubbed a historic show of protest, hundreds demonstrated in capital Bangui on Friday against precarious living conditions and to urge Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera not to seek a third term.”This hasn’t happened in more than 20-25 years,” said Martin Ziguele, president of one of the main opposition parties, the Central African People’s Liberation Movement (MLPC).”A third term is unconstitutional,” said Ziguele, who had donned a sash and bracelets in the national colours to attend a rally organised by a “Republican Bloc for the Defence of the Constitution of March 2016” which is seeking to ensure Touadera does not try to prolong his reign.Protesters brandished slogans such as “no water, no electricity, and now the price of gasoline (is skyrocketing)” and “no to a third term”, as they gathered in the heat.Political and trade union organisations close to the government had urged the public not to mobilise, while some social media spread false information, claiming notably that march coordinators had been arrested “red-handed distributing grenades to street children”.- ‘Suicide’ -“They want to silence the population,” complained Sam, 39, unemployed and not loyal to any party. But “I’d rather die here than wait at home for arrest,” he insisted, saying local leaders were reporting opponents.”We can be resilient, but now we’re committing suicide,” added Sam, referring to a lack of work and soaring prices.For Bruno, 48, a business owner likewise politically unaffiliated, “the state must acknowledge that things are not going well”.”We lack everything here: water, electricity, healthcare.”Francis, 54, a civil servant, interrupted him to complain of persistent insecurity, “the robberies in Bangui, the hostage-takings in the provinces”.For Crespin Mboli Goumba, president of the opposition party PATRIE, the demonstration was only “the beginning of a long series” designed “to help the people emerge from their fear and demand their rights”.”I’m rediscovering the Central African people of 1979, the people who overthrew Jean-Bedel Bokassa’s empire,” said Zeguele.The demonstration, initially banned by the interior ministry then authorised by Touadera, dispersed without incident.On Sunday, during a speech to mark the ninth anniversary of his inauguration, Touadera said he was “sensitive to the concerns of a section of the democratic opposition… which is calling for political dialogue,” while criticising the tone of their requests and their “thinly veiled threats”.The Republican Bloc has made dialogue a prerequisite for its participation in municipal elections scheduled for August, ahead of legislative and presidential elections in December.”We want inclusive and transparent elections,” insisted Ziguele.The CAR, one of the world’s poorest countries and ravaged by crisis since independence from France in 1960, is struggling to recover from unrest that marred December 2020 presidential elections, when elements describing themselves as a coalition of patriots for change, marched on Bangui to overthrow the government.
