Dologuelé enters presidential race despite opposition calls for a boycott

Opposition leader Anicet-Georges Dologuelé has entered the presidential race in Central African Republic.  

His party, the Union for Central African Renewal, or URCA, nominated him on Wednesday at an extraordinary congress in Bangui.  

That's despite the opposition coalition BRDC, of which URCA is a member,  saying it would boycott the December vote.  

Dologuelé said he accepted the nomination because he knows he can win and therefore has a responsibility to the citizens who want their lives to change.  

“I am taking responsibility because the party has decided that I should take responsibility for the nation,” he said. “So I have not betrayed anyone." 

But following the announcement of Dologuelé’s nomination, the BRDC it was excluding URCA from the coalition.  

URCA said it would fight to do everything it can to get rid of the current regime and establish a constitution that is not bad for the Central African people.  

To date, six candidates, including incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadéra, have  officially submitted their applications. The deadline for submissions is Saturday, October 11.