The political dialogues of the Central African Republic (CAR) will be postponed several days for broad involvement of politicians, according to visiting President Francois Bozize.
Bozize, who arrived in Gabon on Tuesday for a brief visit, told a press conference that the dialogues between the government and the rebels will be opened on December 8 to allow for time to have broad participation.
The dialogues had originally been scheduled for December 5-20.
Bozize said Friday and Saturday will be spent on registration, without ruling out the possibility of the participation by the Democratic Front for the Central African People (FDPC) led by Abdoulaye Miskine.
Miskine is seen as an associate of former President Ange-Felix Patasse, who is expected to return to the capital Bangui on Sunday after five years in exile.
He was ousted in a coup by Bozize in 2003.
According to a "comprehensive peace agreement" reached in Libreville on June 21, the CAR promulgates amnesty to all opponents and rebels including Patasse. The FDPC, however, did not sign the deal.
Bozize said Miskine was already on his way to Bangui and that Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba had promised his participation. "We have not seen why he won't be in Bangui," said the president, who returned to the CAR in the afternoon.
The FDPC, the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) and the Union of Democratic Forces of Reassembly (UFDR) are the three rebel movements still active in the north of the country.
After signing the June 21 peace accord, the government, the APRD and the UFDR attended an international peace conference last month in Gabon, where they declared the December 5-20 dialogues in a step to consolidate the peace process and end the years of conflict.
The peace conference, the third of its kind hosted by Goban, was also attended by officials from the United Nations, the European Union, the MICOPAX peace mission and the International Organization of Francophonie.
The CAR, a landlocked country among the world's poorest, won its independence from France in 1960. The thinly-populated country has since witnessed coups and revolts. In 2002, Central African countries began to deploy a 500-strong peacekeeping mission in the CAR. The mission was renamed MICOPAX in July to include more countries in the region.