Top Central African Republic opposition figure Anicet-Georges Dologuele has accused the state of abusing power after being stopped from leaving the country.
The former prime minister said authorities blocked his travel on Tuesday, citing a court ruling that he had lost his citizenship.
Dologuele, a leading critic of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, was prevented from boarding a flight to Addis Ababa.
He was due to attend an African Union Peace Fund meeting, where he chairs the board of directors.
He described the decision as “an abuse of power by the state” during a press conference in Bangui.
The dispute follows an October court ruling that stripped him of Centrafrican citizenship due to his former French nationality.
Dologuele had previously renounced his French passport in August to qualify for the December presidential race.
The election saw Touadera declared winner with nearly 78 percent of the vote amid opposition claims of fraud.
Dologuele, who came second, rejected the results and filed an appeal alleging massive irregularities.
Much of the opposition boycotted the vote, deepening political tensions across the country.
Touadera’s bid for a third term followed a 2023 constitutional change that critics say weakened democratic safeguards.
Dologuele has previously finished second in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, each marked by fraud allegations.
The latest confrontation adds to a growing climate of mistrust, casting long shadows over Central Africa’s fragile political landscape.
