The transition process in the Central African Republic continues to be stifled.

The people of the Central African Republic had to vote the new constitution in a referendum last Sunday, October 4, 2015 but the day came and past without anybody mentioning the referendum. This automatically alters the electoral calendar which indicated that after the referendum on October 4, 2015, presidential and legislative elections had to follow on October 18.

The respect of the electoral calendar remains a major difficulty.  Reports say that last September government instructed the National Elections Agency (ANE) to propose another calendar considering the delays inherent in the organization of the process. As at moment, the new electoral calendar is not yet out but there are clear indications that the entire process has to be postponed.

David Brawon, the Chargé d’Affaires in the Embassy  of the United States of America in Bangui who announced his government’s assistance of 1.700 U.S. Dollars  to secure the electoral process, said over 75 per cent of the potential voters had already been registered.  Authorities have continued registering Central African refugees resident abroad and internally displace people with the operation reported to end this October 15.  The international community has kept on insisting that elections take place within this 2015 in order for the transition process to end by the end of the year.

Unending Insecurity

The Minister of Public Security who is also government’s spokesman, Dominique Saïd Panguindji citing hospital sources in a statement, disclosed that 61 people died and 300 others were injured in the wave of violence that escalated on September 26, 2015 in the capital, Bangui.  This is just the tip of the iceberg in the series of clashes between militants of armed rebel groups, attacks on civilians by unidentified gunmen and attacks on UN peacekeepers.

The recent violence in Bangui went to different proportions as street protesters attacked, ransacked and looted the head offices of most international humanitarian organizations. The new crisis that have surfaced is the lack of trust between the local population and UN peacekeepers as well as humanitarian organizations, considering that protesters called on foreign forces to hand over security matters  to the national army.

Displaced People

The September 2015 Bangui violence, reports say, led to additional 27,000 people fleeing their homes. With the high rate of insecurity, government and humanitarian organizations have a herculean task to meet the food, health and other humanitarian needs of the displaced people.

Stephen O’Brien, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reportedly said at the UN General Assembly in New York last week that armed groups were preventing UN and other humanitarian agencies  from delivering supplies to the over 42,000 displaced people in Bangui.  Government and the international community therefore have to ensure the success of the disarmament process of militias, provide adequate financing for different operations for insecurity to be curbed and elections to take place.