Overview
- Voters on Sunday will choose a president as well as new legislative, regional and local officials, with around half of the 5.5 million population eligible.
- Outgoing president Faustin-Archange Touadera is widely viewed as the front-runner and capped campaigning with a packed stadium rally in Bangui pledging peace if re-elected.
- Opposition figures call the process a sham after a 2023 constitutional change that cleared the way for Touadera’s third-term bid and have urged supporters not to vote.
- Main challenger Anicet-Georges Dologuele reported being denied domestic flights and said venues in Bangui were requisitioned, campaigning instead by road in a convoy escorted by military vehicles to Mbaiki.
- Security in urban areas is being bolstered by Russian Wagner mercenaries working with the army, while provisional results are scheduled for January 5.