BANGUI (Reuters) – Deposed former Central African Republic President Francois Bozize announced on Saturday his candidacy for the December presidential vote despite being under U.N. sanctions and subject to an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity. He made the expected announcement in a speech to a large crowd of supporters at a congress of his party Kwa na Kwa (Work, Nothing But Work) in the capital Bangui. “The country needs a man of experience, peace and conviction,” Bozize said in the speech that criticised the tenure of current president, Faustin-Archange Touadera. Bozize first took power after a 2003 coup and served 10 years as president, before fleeing the country in 2013. It is not clear how the warrant or foreign sanctions will affect his candidacy.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 26, 2020 08:15 UTC