{"id":6762,"date":"2025-12-28T11:10:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6762"},"modified":"2025-12-28T11:10:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:10:51","slug":"central-african-republic-votes-as-touadera-seeks-third-presidential-term-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6762","title":{"rendered":"Central African Republic votes as Touadera seeks third presidential term | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>In office since 2016, President Faustin-Archange Touadera is projected to win the first round of vote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 28 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">28 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The Central African Republic (CAR) is holding the presidential election, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera projected to secure another term in the conflict-ridden country.<\/p>\n<p>Polling stations opened at 05:00 GMT on Sunday and will close at 17:00 GMT, with 2.3 million voters expected to elect their president, legislators, as well as municipal and regional representatives.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Touadera, who has been in office since 2016, is likely to win the first round of voting. However, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, a runoff election will be held.<\/p>\n<p>The 68-year-old incumbent is running for office following a controversial constitutional referendum in 2023 that allowed him to serve additional terms.<\/p>\n<p>The campaign unfolded without significant incidents, with the exception of the most credible opposition figures, Anicet-Georges Dologuele and former prime minister and critic Henri-Marie Dondra, being prevented from flying to the provinces to hold rallies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4199563\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4199563\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4199563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/reuters_6950da40-1766906432.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C511&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"A campaign billboard of presidential candidate Anicet-Georges Dologuele, of l'Union pour le Renouveau Centrafricain (URCA), stands ahead of the presidential election scheduled for December 28, in Bangui, Central African Republic, December 24, 2025. REUTERS\/Leger Serge Kokpakpa\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4199563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A campaign billboard of presidential candidate Anicet-Georges Dologuele, of URCA party [File: Leger Serge Kokpakpa\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Security forces were omnipresent in the capital\u2019s streets, with a significant deployment of police, army, and the Russian Wagner Group mercenaries.<\/p>\n<p>The elections are taking place against the backdrop of a civil war that has been ongoing since 2013 and has brought the state to the brink of collapse, with armed groups controlling large parts of the country at times.<\/p>\n<p>International peace missions, including the United Nations mission in the CAR, MINUSCA, as well as military support from Russia and Rwanda, have helped to partially stabilise the situation in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, rebels remain active, especially in the border regions with Sudan and South Sudan.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the presidential election, parliamentary elections and, for the first time in decades, local elections are also being held on Sunday in the country of some 5.5 million inhabitants.<\/p>\n<p>Touadera was re-elected in 2020, in a vote marred by allegations of fraud and an uprising by six rebel groups attempting to overthrow the government.<\/p>\n<p>The rebels were pushed back due to an intervention by the Rwandan army and Russian mercenaries.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"orchestrated-rallies\">\u2018Orchestrated\u2019 rallies<\/h2>\n<p>According to political scientist and civil society figure Paul Crescent Beninga, \u201corchestrated\u201d rallies have taken place across the country to plant the idea that Touadera enjoys widespread popular support.<\/p>\n<p>Images of the incumbent have flooded the capital, with neon signs, giant portraits and T-shirts bearing his likeness seen everywhere on the streets.<\/p>\n<p>While Touadera held rallies in Bangui\u2019s stadium, his top two critics had to make do with neighbourhood walkabouts and events in schools or their party offices.<\/p>\n<p>Dologuele and Dondra also faced the prospect of being barred from standing over allegations they held another country\u2019s citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Touadera\u2019s 2023 constitutional change introduced the requirement that candidates be single-nationals.<\/p>\n<p>Although the courts rejected the bans, Dologuele, who previously ran for the top job in 2020, was stripped of his CAR passport in mid-October even after giving up his French citizenship. That prompted him to file a complaint with the UN human rights office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut despite their candidacies being approved, many \u2026 remain sceptical about the point of voting and the transparency of the elections,\u201d Beninga told AFP news agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In office since 2016, President Faustin-Archange Touadera is projected to win the first round of vote. Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The Central African Republic (CAR) is holding the presidential election, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera projected to secure another term in the conflict-ridden country. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}