Cape Town — A grouping of the main Central African Republic opposition parties, the Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution, was formally approached the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. They are challenging the presidential decree dated August 26, establishing a drafting committee for a new Constitution.
Among the the signatories is Crépin Mboli-Goumba, President of the African Party for a Radical Transformation and the Integration of States (Fatherland), is counting on the Court, which had earlier ruled that certain parts of the Constitution could be revised.
“There is no provision in the Constitution of our country that allows the president of the Republic to organize a referendum with the objective of abolishing the same. Any initiative to change the constitution must therefore be evaluated and be in line with the Constitution of March 30, 2016 … the revision unconstitutional.
“The Constitutional Court had earlier reaffirmed this particularly on the mandates of the president and eligibility criteria. Based on these jurisprudence we believe that the Constitutional Court cannot retract in the eyes of the Central African people and in the eyes of the whole world.”
Translated from RFI