8 candidates to vie for Central African Republic's transition presidency

Central African Republic's interim President Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendent is among the eight candidates contesting for the transition presidency. The transition president will be chosen by the National Transition Council (CNT, transition parliament) that started meeting in Bangui at an extraordinary session on Tuesday. A source from the transition parliament said the new president could take the oath of office on Saturday. An ex-parliamentarian elected in 2005 for one term until 2011, Nguendet is the current speaker of the CNT, which was formed in 2013 after Michel Djotodia and his ex-Seleka rebel group took power. He is expected to serve as the country's interim president for a period of 15 days following last Friday's forced resignation of Djotodia and his prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye. The resignation of the two occurred during an extraordinary summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) held in the Chadian capital N'Djamena to find a lasting solution to Central African Republic's crisis. The crisis had plunged the country into chaos despite the presence in Bangui of French forces and African troops under the auspices of the International Support Mission for Central African Republic (MISCA). Seen as a close confidant of the ex-transition president, Nguendet was the first to organize a peaceful demonstration in support of the March 24, 2013 coup that overthrew the regime of Francois Bozize, who came to power after overthrowing Ange-Felix Patasse in March 2003. According to a program sent to Xinhua by Thierry Akoloza, the communications officer for the CNT, the transition parliament's extraordinary session will be held for seven days. From Tuesday to Wednesday, the CNT members will examine various candidatures before voting for one of them on Friday. The swearing- in ceremony of the new transition president will be held Saturday. The extraordinary session opened just three days after the announcement of a vacancy in the office of the president by the transitional Constitutional Court which allowed Nguendet to serve in the interim position for 15 days. According to Central African Republic's transitional constitution adopted in August 2013, in case of the death, resignation or medical incapacitation of the transition president, the head of the National Transition Council takes over the country's leadership. The people of Central African Republic have urged the members of the CNT to demonstrate maturity by choosing a transition president who is capable of overcoming security challenges and promoting national reconciliation. However, most observers have expressed fears over the outcome. "CNT has a strong affinity to the Seleka rebel coalition, because it came from Djotodia's illegal coup on March 24, 2013," said one of the observers who declined to be identified. These observers have raised a debate over the "legality" of the current CNT to choose a transition president.