The Central African Republic began voting on Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term in a country which has endured several coups.

• In 2020 Mr. Touadera won a second term through to 2025, after a vote interrupted by several incursions by armed rebel groups, while he also had to overcome allegations of fraud.
• His rivals now charge that he wants to remain "president for life" — under the increasingly visible protection of private Russian mercenary group Wagner, which first deployed to the CAR in 2018.
• The country of 5.5 million people is one of the world's poorest.