Although doubts still persist, the Interim President has reiterated that there should be an end to transition.
Presidential elections in the Central African Republic must hold before the end of 2015 so as to put an end to the transitional system in the country, Transitional Head of State Catherine Samba Panza has said. Reports say apparently pressurized by international organizations, the country’s authorities are posed to organising the elections by December 2015.
It is worth noting that elections in the country have been postponed twice. Earlier this month, a national reconciliation forum called for presidential and legislative elections to be delayed to give the transitional authorities more time to organise the polls. But the recommendation drew protests in the capital city Bangui despite the backing of over 600 national stakeholders.
The insistence on the holding of elections before the year ends made during her visit to France last week came days after Catherine Samba Panza made a similar statement in an international conference in Brussels on boosting support to CAR which the European Union hosted on May 27, 2015. Here, she is quoted to have said that, “I reaffirm my determination to organise democratic and credible elections... which will whatever the case take place before the end of 2015.” Pundits hold that the Central African Republic government is in an effort to organise elections and leave behind a brutal conflict sparked after a 2013 coup pitting mainly Muslim rebels against Christian vigilantes.
Analysts also hold that as good as the announcement may sound, the greatest challenge remains mobilizing the funds needed to organise the polls. Speaking during the Brussels’ conference, the interim president of the Central African Republic, Catherine Samba Panza, urged rich donor countries to deliver on aid promised to her war ravaged nation, including funds to pay for elections later this year. She stated that her country still needs $17m (about FCFA10.25 billion) to hold the elections, which are seen as a critical step to avoiding an irreversible descent into a failed State.
