CENTRAL AFRICA

Chad: dictatorship continues by other means

Coup leader gets stamp of legitimacy at the ballot box – with France’s blessing

‘This election seems orchestrated to ensure the permanence of the transitional president’

‘Civil society action is needed more than ever, but the space in which it can undertake it is getting smaller’

CONFLICT | CRISIS

‘Civil society is targeted by politicians who see it as an obstacle to their power’

‘The government uses violence to dominate through fear’

‘Under the old regime civil society was not taken into account’

Gabon: the end of a dictatorship… and the beginning of another?

Military coups rarely lead to democracy

‘Civic space and the conditions for the exercise of human rights were difficult under the former regime’

‘The government, local groups and society at large have all joined efforts to help refugees’

Central African Republic: president in for the long haul

Dubious referendum abolishes presidential term limits