CAR votes as Touadera heads for another term under heavy security

The Central African Republic is voting in a high-stakes presidential election, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera widely expected to secure another term in the conflict-scarred country.

Polling stations opened at 05:00 GMT on Sunday and are due to close at 17:00 GMT, with about 2.3 million registered voters choosing a president alongside lawmakers and, for the first time in decades, municipal and regional representatives.

Touadera, 68, who has been in power since 2016, is projected to win outright in the first round. If no candidate clears the 50 percent threshold, a runoff will be held. His bid is enabled by a controversial 2023 constitutional referendum that lifted term limits and allowed him to run again.

The campaign itself passed without major violence, but it was far from level. Two of the most credible opposition figures, Anicet-Georges Dologuele and former prime minister Henri-Marie Dondra, were prevented from travelling to the provinces to hold rallies, sharply limiting their reach.

The vote comes against the backdrop of a civil war that has dragged on since 2013 and at times pushed the state to the brink of collapse. Armed groups have controlled large swathes of the country, though international peacekeepers, including the UN mission MINUSCA, alongside Russian and Rwandan military support have helped partially stabilise the situation in recent years.

Even so, rebel activity continues, particularly near the borders with Sudan and South Sudan.

Touadera was last re-elected in 2020 in a vote tainted by fraud allegations and followed by an armed uprising by six rebel groups attempting to overthrow him.

Political scientist and civil society figure Paul Crescent Beninga said the campaign has been shaped by “orchestrated” rallies designed to project an image of overwhelming support for Touadera.

Across Bangui, the president’s face is hard to miss, splashed across neon signs, giant portraits and T-shirts worn in the streets.

While Touadera addressed mass rallies in the capital’s stadium, his main challengers were left holding neighbourhood walkabouts and small meetings in schools or party offices.

Both Dologuele and Dondra also faced legal pressure over claims they held dual nationality. Touadera’s 2023 constitutional changes require presidential candidates to be single-nationals.

Although courts ultimately rejected efforts to bar them from running, Dologuele was stripped of his CAR passport in mid-October, even after renouncing his French citizenship, prompting him to file a complaint with the UN human rights office.

“But despite their candidacies being approved, many … remain sceptical about the point of voting and the transparency of the elections,” Beninga told AFP.