The Central African Republic is a multi-party democracy located in Central Africa. In 2015, the country was governed by President Catherine Samba-Panza, who had been in power since 2014 and is the leader of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP) party. During her time in office, President Samba-Panza has been credited with bringing stability to the Central African Republic after years of civil unrest. See ehealthfacts for Central African Republic in the year of 2005.
In 2015, the Central African Republic held presidential elections in which President Samba-Panza won a majority of votes and was re-elected for a second term. This victory was attributed to her successful economic policies such as reducing poverty levels, encouraging foreign investment, and providing basic services such as healthcare and education to its citizens. The ADP party also benefited from its strong national security policies which have helped to maintain peace and stability throughout the Central African Republic.
Despite its successes, President Samba-Panza’s government has been criticized for its lack of commitment to human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. Additionally, corruption remains a major issue in the Central African Republic with high-level officials frequently accused of abusing their power for personal gain. Despite these challenges, President Samba-Panza’s government remains committed to furthering economic development and maintaining political stability throughout the country.
Yearbook 2015
Central African Republic. During the year, several peace agreements were signed in the war-torn country, including one in April between former Presidents François Bozizé and Michel Djotodia. However, this was dismissed by the sitting transitional government. In May, a reconciliation meeting was held in the capital Bangui. But neither this nor any other agreement or meeting involved all the parties involved, so no lasting peace could be achieved. According to COUNTRYAAH, Bangui is the capital of Central African Republic which is located in Central Africa. The conflict is simply expressed between former members of the rebel movement Séléka, who are mainly Muslims, and the Christian militias called anti-Balaka.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Central African Republic country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
In March, the European peacekeeping force EUFOR RCA left the country after barely a year’s effort. The missions to secure Bangui airport and prepare the way for the UN force MINUSCA were considered completed. Violence, however, flared up several times during the year. In addition to a large number of “domestic” deaths, a UN soldier fell during a firefight in August. The following month, fierce fighting broke out in Bangui with at least 60 casualties over a few days. In addition, about 500 prisoners were released after militia militants attacked a prison. Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza requested that the UN mandate MINUSCA to disarm the various armed militias and rebel groups.
Although diamond exports from the Central African Republic in accordance with the Kimberley Process certification system have been banned since 2013, smuggling from militarily controlled areas has continued. This, in turn, has fueled the conflict, not least because the money for the conflict diamonds financed arms purchases. In May, the UN imposed sanctions on the Central African diamond company BADICA and its Belgian sister company KARDIAM, which were accused of being involved in illegal diamond trading. Sanctions were also directed at a former Séléka commander as well as the leaders of two anti-Balaka groups.
Elections were tentatively scheduled to be held in July and August, but the unstable and violent situation in the country caused the elections to be postponed, first until October and then until December. A referendum on a new constitution was supposed to be held on October 4, before the parliamentary and presidential elections, but this could also be postponed in the future. A week later, the head of the country’s electoral authority resigned. In October, Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza emphasized the importance of holding elections before the turn of the year.
After all, the referendum was carried out in mid-December. Admittedly, the election was extended one day due to violence, including in the form of gunfire between people in Bangui’s Muslim-dominated residential areas and MINUSCA soldiers. In most places, however, the vote was calm. Voting was low, just under 40 percent, but among those voting, support for the new constitution was massive. About 93 percent voted in favor of the proposal, which meant, among other things, that members of the transitional council were not allowed to stand in the next election. The term of office of the President was limited to two years and the legislative power is placed with the Senate.
In mid-December, the Autonomous Republic of Logone was proclaimed in the northeastern part of the country. Large parts of the area are said to be controlled by the rebel group Front Popularie pour la Renaissance de Centrafrique (FPRC), formerly part of Séléka. According to the FPRC leader, Noureddine Adam, this part of the country was completely abandoned by the central government. Adam was Minister of Security during Michel Djotodia’s time as President.
The civil war, as so often the case in conflicts of this kind, has hit the children hard. In the Central African Republic as listed by Abbreviationfinder.org, children have not only been forced to become soldiers and slaves by militia groups on both sides. In May, a highly regarded Swedish UN official submitted a secret stamped report to a French prosecutor. In the report, French soldiers in the UN service were accused of exposing children to sexual abuse. The UN official was temporarily suspended for relaying the internal report. In June, there were further charges of sexual abuse of children by UN soldiers. The repeated revelations about how children were subjected to sexual abuse in August led UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to dismiss the chief of the UN force MINUSCA.