CAR's top court clears Touadera to stand in December presidential election

Central African Republic’s top court has cleared President Faustin Archange Touadera to stand in next month’s presidential election.

A recent petition had sought to block Touadera on the grounds that he doesn’t meet the lineage requirements to run for the presidency.

The constitutional court also gave the green light to opposition leader Anicet Georges Dologuélé and five other candidates for the December 28 vote.

Touadera first took office in 2016 and was reelected five years later. He’s one of Russia’s closest African allies and CAR one of the first countries to allow the mercenary Wagner group to establish operations. It’s pledged to fight rebel groups and restore peace in exchange for gaining access to the country’s mineral resources.

Disagreements with Moscow

But disagreements around the nature of Russia’s military presence in the country have cast a shadow over the Central African Republic’s relations with Moscow.

In August, state and military officials said Russia has called on the country to replace the private Wagner mercenary group with Moscow’s state-run Africa Corps and requested payment for further security services. The Central African Republic’s government has been reluctant to agree to Russia’s demands, because it sees Wagner as more effective and they prefer to pay for services with minerals, not in cash.

For years, Wagner has been protecting Touadera and his government, and helped him win a 2023 constitutional referendum that could extend his power indefinitely.

The Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced the president from office. A 2019 peace deal was signed, but six of the 14 armed groups involved in the deal withdrew from it.

Wagner is credited for helping prevent the rebels from retaking the capital in 2021. The validation of Touadera’s candidacy came on the same day the United Nations Security Council extended its peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic for a year.