Previously seized by the opposition platform BRDC (Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution), the Constitutional Court is expected to make an important decision by the end of September. The institution must rule on the petition against the presidential decree creating a commission to draft a new Constitution of the country. According to the opposition, its members are targeted by demonstrations and threats, which put pressure on the institution.
The atmosphere is increasingly heavy at the Central African Constitutional Court. Originally, a petition against the presidential decree creating a commission to draft a new constitution for the country, on which the eight judges are expected to make their decision in the coming days. According to the opposition platform BRDC (Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution), which filed the petition, the officials of the institution are under pressure and could not make their decision in all serenity.
Opposition denounces attacks and threats to the Court
Concerned about the nature of the decision that will be rendered and the repercussions on the members of the Constitutional Court, the BRDC has stepped up to the plate to denounce the attacks, and even threats, by radical organizations against the institution. The only objective of these maneuvers, according to the opposition, is to force it to validate the process of changing the Constitution.
The Sangocoin cryptocurrency project at the root of this tug of war
Everything had turned around since the court rejected certain terms of the Sangocoin cryptocurrency project in late August, according to BRDC.
On Thursday and Friday, a few hundred demonstrators, carrying openly hostile signs, gathered in front of its headquarters, placed under the protection of the Minusca, to demand in particular the departure of Danièle Darlan, who has chaired the institution since 2017.
Strong reactions from women parliamentarians and the Bar Association
The situation at the Constitutional Court is of concern to political and judicial actors. In a statement, the forum of women parliamentarians of the Central African Republic said it was outraged.
On the other hand, the Bar Association has called for a general assembly of the different legal professions this Tuesday, September 13, to denounce the “recurrent threats against the judicial institutions”.
For clarification, demonstrations in front of the Court are formally prohibited by the Minister of Public Security. The Republican Front, an organization close to the government and in favor of the reform, calls for “letting judges enjoy their full independence.”
