In a contentious election process, the Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court has validated President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s victory in the December 28th presidential poll, confirming his third term in office. This decision comes despite allegations of fraud from Touadera’s main opponents, claims which the government has strongly denied.
The Constitutional Court announced that Touadera won the election with 77.9% of the vote, easily surpassing his nearest challenger, former Prime Minister Anicet-Georges Dologuele, who secured just 13.5%. The court rejected an appeal filed by Dologuele following the release of the provisional results on January 5th.
Another competitor, ex-Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra who garnered 2.97% of the votes, acknowledged Touadera’s victory last week and said he would not appeal the outcome, stating his decision was made “to preserve peace and avoid reigniting tension” in the chronically unstable nation.
Touadera, a 68-year-old mathematician who first took power a decade ago, campaigned on his security record, having enlisted the help of Russian mercenaries and Rwandan soldiers to bolster the country’s defences. He has also signed peace deals with several rebel groups over the past year. His renewed mandate is likely to further cement Russia’s influence in the resource-rich country, as Moscow has traded security assistance for access to gold and diamond reserves.
Prior to the vote, Dologuele and Dondra had both cast doubt on the credibility of the election results, holding separate press conferences to denounce what they described as “election fraud”. Dologuele, the runner-up in the 2020 election, stated that there had been “a methodical attempt to manipulate” the outcome, asserting that “the Central African people spoke on December 28 and expressed a clear desire for change.”
However, Touadera’s government has firmly denied any allegations of electoral fraud, and the Constitutional Court’s decision to validate the results has cemented the president’s hold on power for a third term.