No Exit

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Hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR) over the weekend to protest a constitutional referendum later this month that would remove term limits for the president, Africanews reported.

The demonstration was organized by the opposition coalition, the Republican Bloc for the Defence of the Constitution (BRDC), and took place despite a government ban on protests.

It comes less than two months after President Faustin-Archange Touádera announced a referendum on a new constitution that is scheduled for July 30.

The amendments would abolish the two-term limit for the president and ban dual-nationality citizens from running for the post.

Touádera’s allies said presidential term limits were uncommon in many neighboring countries. But his critics countered that the move was a power play by the president to run for a third term in 2025, Al Jazeera wrote in May.

Touádera was elected in 2016 and was returned for a second term in 2020, despite widespread allegations of electoral shenanigans and an ongoing rebellion against his rule after years of civil war.

Human rights groups and United Nations officials warned that the referendum risks complicating the country’s human rights situation.