Bozizé factorOne major obstacle to Touadéra's victory could be former President François Bozizé the man forced in 2013 to flee the country by the Séléka a mostly Muslim rebel coalition from the country's north who has been back in Bangui since December (AC Vol 54 No 7 Séléka takes power)...
The FRPC was the strongest element of the Séléka coalition which invaded the country in 2013 and overthrew President François Bozizé (AC Vol 54 No 7 Séléka takes power)...
When he was a minister ex-President François Bozizé had him arrested for embezzlement...
The current situation resembles that prevailing in mid-2012 when it was becoming obvious that the regime of President François Bozizé would not be able to pay government salaries – a key factor in the country's stability (AC Vol 53 No 14)...
Although a prime minister under President François Bozizé for five years he was tainted neither by the excesses of that regime nor by the bloodshed later unleashed by the Anti-Balaka (AB) the self-defence units first created by Bozizé after he lost power in March 2013 when fighters of the mainly Muslim Séléka alliance terrorised the population...
It seems that Touadéra cannot shake the habits he picked up while prime minister under President François Bozizé (AC Vol 57 No 5 New leader's old problems)...
The two most important factions were there: the pro-Séléka Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) led by Noureddine Adam and a large anti-Balaka faction led by Maxime Mokom a relative of ex-President François Bozizé...
In a January interview with the French weekly Jeune Afrique Déby went further than expected and endorsed the idea that the talks could even include two former presidents General François Bozizé and Michel Djotodia and they could be allowed to return to Bangui (AC Vol 55 No 2 Risky hunt for a new leader)...
A similar donor exercise took place after the election of President François Bozizé and pledges were plentiful...
The arrival in Bangui of ex-President François Bozizé's son Jean-Francis Bozizé and his arrest a day after he had met President Touadéra well illustrates this mindset (AC Vol 55 No 5 Violence takes new shapes)...