The Government of Central African Republic

Central African Republic - Government

Based on the etymolgy of Central African Republic, it was self-descriptive name specifying the country's location on the continent; "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia, "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent. The Government system in this country is the presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 14 prefectures (préfectures, singular - préfecture), 2 economic prefectures* (préfectures économiques, singular - préfecture économique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga

National symbols

Elephant.

The flag

The National flag of Central African Republic has .

The National Anthem

Title
Lyric/music

More about the government of Central African Republic

Constitution
Date of Independence	13 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday	Republic Day, 1 December (1958)
Legal system	civil law system based on the French model
International law organization participation	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
History	Several previous; latest constitution passed by a national referendum on 30 July 2023 and validated by the Constitutional Court on 30 August 2023
Amendment process	Proposals require support of the government, two thirds of the National Council of Transition, and assent by the "Mediator of the Central African" crisis; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the National Council membership; non-amendable constitutional provisions include those on the secular and republican form of government, fundamental rights and freedoms, amendment procedures, or changes to the authorities of various high-level executive, parliamentary, and judicial officials
Citizenship
Citizenship by birth	no
Citizenship by descent only	least one parent must be a citizen of the Central African Republic
Dual citizenship recognized	yes
Residency requirement for naturalization	35 years
Executive Branch
Chief of state	President Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA (since 30 March 2016)
Head of government	Prime Minister Félix MOLOUA (since 7 February 2022)
Cabinet	Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Election/appointment process	current president was directly elected for 5-year term; constitutional referendum in July 2023 removed term limits and instituted 7-year terms
Most recent election date	27 December 2020
Election results	2020: Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA (independent) 53.9%, Anicet Georges DOLOGUELE (URCA) 21%, other 25.1% 2015: Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA elected president in the second round; percent of vote in first round - Anicet-Georges DOLOGUELE (URCA) 23.7%, Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA (independent) 19.1%, Desire KOLINGBA (RDC) 12%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 11.4%, other 33.8%; percent of vote in second round - Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA 62.7%, Anicet-Georges DOLOGUELE 37.3%
Expected date of next election	December 2025
Legislative branch
Legislature name	National Assembly (Assemblée nationale)
Legislative structure	Unicameral
Number of seats	140 (all directly elected)
Electoral system	Plurality/majority
Scope of elections	Full renewal
Term in office	5 years
Most recent election date	12/27/2020 to 7/25/2021
Parties elected and seats per party	United Hearts Movement (MCU) (61); National Movement of Independents (MOUNI) (9); Union for Central African Renewal (URCA) (7); Independents (17); Other (39)
Percentage of women in chamber	11.4%
Expected date of next election	December 2025
Judicial branch
Highest court(s)	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (number of judges unknown); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, at least 3 of whom are women)
Judge selection and term of office	Supreme Court judges appointed by the president; Constitutional Court judge appointments - 2 by the president, 1 by the speaker of the National Assembly, 2 elected by their peers, 2 are advocates elected by their peers, and 2 are law professors elected by their peers; judges serve 7-year non-renewable terms
Subordinate courts	High courts; magistrates' courts
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Martial NDOUBOU (since 17 September 2018)
Chancery	2704 Ontario Road NW, Washington, DC 20009
Telephone	[1] (202) 483-7800
FAX	[1] (202) 332-9893
Email address and website	[email protected] https://www.usrcaembassy.org/
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Melanie Anne ZIMMERMAN (since July 2025)
Embassy	Avenue David Dacko, Bangui
Mailing address	2060 Bangui Place, Washington DC 20521-2060
Telephone	[236] 2161-0200
FAX	[236] 2161-4494
Email address and website	https://cf.usembassy.gov/
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites	2 (natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales	Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park; Sangha Trinational Forest