Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadera is seeking a controversial third term on Sunday after a decade in office in which he has turned to Russia for security in exchange for access to gold and other resources.
Touadera, 68, a mathematician, is relying on a tactic familiar in the region to extend his tenure, having overseen a referendum in 2023 that scrapped the presidential term limit.
But he has been a trailblaser in other respects. In 2018, CAR became the first country in West and Central Africa to bring in Russia’s Wagner mercenaries, a move later mirrored by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
And in 2022, CAR became the first African nation – and second globally after El Salvador, to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
Campaigning on his security record and pledging infrastructure investment, Touadera has attended numerous ceremonies, including signing a deal last week to launch Starlink in CAR.
“When I came to power in 2016, you couldn’t travel 10 kilometres without being harassed. There was no security, no roads, nothing. We have worked so hard to achieve this result today,” he told supporters this month at a rally in Bangui.
Despite close ties with Russia, Touadera has signalled a renewed interest in Western partnerships, telling the Financial Times in September that he would welcome any country willing to develop CAR’s lithium, uranium and gold reserves.
Analysts say Touadera is favoured to win, aided by civil servants campaigning for him and the significant resource advantage he enjoys over his opponents.
CAR has endured repeated cycles of unrest since independence from France in 1960, leaving most of its 5.5 million people in poverty.
Five years ago, Rwanda deployed troops to prevent rebels from disrupting elections and maintains a presence today.
–Reuters–
