Bangui, Central African Republic — The Central African Republic's Constitutional Court on Wednesday began hearing a petition seeking to disqualify the country's leader from running in the upcoming December presidential election.
A petition filed by civil society group Observatory of Democratic Governance argued that President Faustin Archenzi Touadera should be disqualified because he does not meet the criteria to run for president.
The group's president, Elise Nguimale, disputed the origin of the president's name, saying it suggested he could not trace his family, as stipulated in the bloodline requirement in the country's constitution.
“The name Touadera in his native language means a child abandoned by his maternal uncles,” Nguimale said in the petition. He pointed out that under Article 65 of the country's family law, this name means that the father is unknown, and that “because the father is unknown, the origin is ambiguous.”
It was not immediately clear whether the court would uphold the claims or how quickly a decision would be rendered.
Territorial Administration Minister Bruno Japande dismissed Nguimale's petition, saying it was a measure aimed at “causing confusion among the people.”
The final list of candidates for the election has not yet been published. The president is running for a third term, which would extend his term by 20 years, made possible by the end of term limits in 2023.
The case began after the government refused to issue a passport to opposition leader Anisette Georges Drogere, potentially rendering her stateless. The Dec. 28 election comes as Russia grapples with a protracted security crisis and the president seeks security from Russia.
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