Voters in the Central African Republic (CAR) over the weekend cast their ballots under tight security, in the second round of parliamentary elections after an outbreak of violence severely disrupted polls late last year.
About forty-nine of the National Assembly’s 140 seats are up for grabs in Sunday’s vote, after 22 members of parliament were elected outright in the first round.
For the other 69 seats where the unrest stopped the December 27, 2020 vote from taking place, the polls will serve as the first round – to be followed, if necessary, by a second on an as-yet unscheduled date.
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Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the turmoil surrounding last year’s legislative and presidential polls when President Faustin-Archange Touadéra won re-election, but a new alliance of rebel groups – who the United Nations say is backed by former President François Bozizé – sought to take control amid allegations of voting irregularities.
A little more than a week before the last vote, six of the armed groups that control two-thirds of the country joined forces and pledged to disrupt the election, march on the capital and overthrow Touadéra’s government.
They laid siege to Bangui in January, strangling food supplies, forcing more than 200,000 from their homes, and raising concerns that the country was slipping back into the kind of conflict that has killed thousands over the past decade.
The government and the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA have both expressed confidence Sunday’s election will be peaceful due to extra forces on the ground and the capture of rebel strongholds since their initial offensive.
Touadéra’s party is expected to easily retain its majority in the National Assembly, but there are fears the vote could again be disrupted by the rebels, who have withdrawn to the countryside but are still threatening to overthrow the government.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
