The National Assembly of the Central African Republic has adopted the new draft Electoral Code after several hours of debates, reports said on Wednesday.
126 MPs out of 140 voted “yes” to pass the new law supported by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Augustin Yangana Yahote. The new change is the increase in the deposit paid by candidates for future elections.
From now on, those who wish to run in the presidential election will have to pay a caution of 15 million CFA francs to the Treasury against 5 million previously.
For the legislative elections, 250,000 CFA francs will have to be paid for the file to be retained by the National Electoral Authority. Previously, the deposit was set at 100,000 CFA francs by the former Electoral Code.
This new law meets the expectations of Central African political actors who believe that it can curb fanciful candidacies in the country’s various elections.
BB/cd/lb/abj/APA