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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Eight Candidates Vie for Interim Presidency in C. Africa |
| 2014-01-20 |
| [An Nahar] Eight candidates are in the running for the interim presidency in the strife-torn Central African Republic, the transitional parliament announced Sunday. Blaise Fleury Otto, head of a special electoral commission, said 24 dossiers had been whittled down to eight according to draconian selection criteria. They include the mayor of the capital Bangui, Catherine Samba Panza, as well as two sons of former presidents, Sylvain Patasse and Desire Kolingba. Ange-Felix Patasse was president from 1993 to 2003, preceded by Andre Kolingba, who came to power in 1985 in the impoverished country with a long history of coups, attempted coups and army mutinies. Parliament will elect the interim leader on Monday to fill the void left when coup-maker Michel Djotodia stepped aside on January 11. Excluded from standing for president are any political officials who worked for Djotodia, party leaders, active soldiers, and anyone who has belonged to a militia or rebel group in the last 20 years. The new interim leader will be tasked with restoring peace to the former French colony, kick-start a paralyzed administration and enable hundreds of thousands of displaced people to return home. It is an especially tall order given that general elections must be held in the first half of 2015. Djotodia had come under fire for failing to rein in his mainly Mohammedan Seleka rebels after they seized power in a coup last March, unleashing sectarian festivities in the predominantly Christian country, with the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... warning that the bloodshed could turn into genocide. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 But then they'd have to work for a living... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2014-01-20 14:42 |
| #3 Might I suggest letting the various NGOs assume responsibilities commensurate with their expertise? It'd be interesting to see if they can run things, rather than merely prattle-on. And I would think dealing with the day-to-day concerns of Central Africans would be... illuminating. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-01-20 12:41 |
| #2 Aaaaall aboard!...the gravy train |
| Posted by: 2sealys 2014-01-20 10:27 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-01-20 06:47 |