Central African Republic holds referendum on new constitution which would abolish presidential term limits

Central African Republic held a constitutional referendum on [30 July] which, if passed, could allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to run for a third term in 2025. Touadera was first elected in 2016 for a five-year term and won reelection in 2020 for what was supposed to be his final term in office. The proposed new constitution would abolish the two-term limit and extend the presidential mandate from five to seven years, meaning the time Touadera or another candidate could serve as president would be unlimited. Mathias Barthelemy Mourouba, head of the country's electoral commission, told Reuters that provisional results are expected within seven days, but they will start releasing results from some polling stations on [31 July]. Opposition parties and some civil society groups called for a boycott of the referendum, saying it was designed to keep Touadera in power for life.
Read the full article here: Reuters