Bozize announces electoral calendar

A constitutional referendum will be held in the Central African Republic (CAR) in mid-2004, CAR leader Francois Bozize has announced. The government-controlled Radio Centrafrique reported on Wednesday that Bozize had also announced that presidential elections would be held in the third quarter of 2004 and parliamentary and municipal elections in the last quarter of that year. Bozize announced the electoral calendar on Tuesday during a summit of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC) in Libreville, Gabon. "The new head of state will be sworn in January 2005 " Parfait Mbaye, the CAR minister for communication, told IRIN on Wednesday. However, Mbaye said the holding of the referendum and the elections would depend on the restoration of security across the country. He said that this would also depend on the help Bozize's administration received from the international community. On Tuesday, CEMAC, the only international organisation to have recognised Bozize's administration, granted the new government in Bangui five billion francs CFA (US $9.1 million). Bozize seized power on 15 March from President Ange-Felix Patasse. During the CEMAC summit, the region's leaders congratulated Bozize on his attempts to restore security and to reconcile the CAR people. The leaders urged the international community to help CAR nationals who had been affected by fighting, from October 2002 to March 2003, between rebels and government troops.