Central African Republic election: Who’s running and what’s at stake?

Central African Republic election: Who’s running and what’s at stake? President Touadera’s decision to stand for a third term has drawn criticism from opposition groups and civil society. Citizens of the Central African Republic (CAR) will vote on Sunday in highly controversial presidential and legislative elections expected to extend President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s tenure beyond two terms for the first time in the country’s history. Touadera, who helped put his country on the map when he adopted Bitcoin as one of its legal tenders in 2022, had earlier pushed through a referendum abolishing presidential term limits. That, as well as significant delays that almost upturned the confirmation of two major challengers, has led some opposition groups to boycott the vote, calling it a “sham”. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 The three elections observers are concerned about list 2 of 4 ICC convicts Central African Republic rebels over war crimes list 3 of 4 The ‘ghost reporters’ writing pro-Russian propaganda in West Africa list 4 of 4 Central African Republic ex-strongman charged with crimes against humanity CAR will also hold local elections for the first time in 40 years, after a long period of destabilising political conflict, including an ongoing civil war between the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel movement and the largely Christian Anti-balaka armed groups, which has led to the displacement of one million people. There are fears that the country’s electoral body is not equipped to handle an election on this scale. The landlocked nation is sandwiched between several larger neighbours, including Chad to the north and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the south. It has an ethnically and religiously diverse population of about 5.5 million, with French and Sango being the national languages. Although rich in resources like crude oil, gold and uranium, persistent political instability since independence from France in 1960, and the ongoing civil war (2013-present) have kept CAR one of Africa’s poorest nations. For security, CAR is increasingly reliant on Russian assistance to guard major cities against rebels. Citizens of CAR are referred to as Central Africans. The country’s largest city and capital is Bangui, named after the Ubangi River, which forms a natural border between CAR and the DRC. The country exports mainly diamonds, timber and gold, but much of the population depends on subsistence agriculture, and economic activity is limited. Here’s what we know about Sunday’s election: Who can vote and how does it work? About 2.3 million Central Africans over the age of 18 are registered to vote for the country’s next president. Of these, 749,000 registrations are new since the previous election in 2020. They’ll also be voting for national lawmakers, regional and, for the first time in about 40 years, municipal administrators. Average turnout in past years has been about 62 percent, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). There are about 6,700 polling units across the country. The National Elections Authority initially planned to hold the municipal government elections at...

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