Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |

Emergency Grant Aid for the Process to Restore Democracy in the Central African Republic

TOKYO, Japan, September 24, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ --

1. On September 18, the Government of Japan decided to extend Emergency Grant Aid of 550,000 US dollars (approximately 66 million yen) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with a view to supporting a smooth implementation of the process to restore democracy in the Central African Republic.

2. The Central African Republic is now on the way to recovery from the turmoil triggered by anti-government forces called Séléka, which seized the capital city of Bangui in May 2013. The country plans to hold a constitutional referendum as well as presidential and parliamentary elections in October 2015, paving the way for the completion of the process to restore democracy by the end of this year.

3. The Government of Japan will be supporting the UNDP’s activities to strengthen voters’ education and increase awareness on the electoral process in the country, and will also be supporting the Central African Republic refugees in Cameroon through the UNHCR for their participation in the presidential elections. This assistance will contribute to “Consolidating Peace, Stability, Democracy and Good Governance”, which has been promoted through the TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) process, one of the pillars of Japan’s diplomacy towards Africa.

4. The Government of Japan hopes that a series of referendum and elections will be held in a fair and transparent manner, thereby contributing to the successful restoration of democracy in the country and to the promotion of stability in the central African region as a whole.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.