C.African Republic confirms 2nd term for president

By Aurore Bonny

LOME, Togo (AA) – Last month’s re-election of the Central African Republic’s (CAR) president was validated on Monday by the Central African Constitutional Court.

Faustin Archange Touadera’s Dec. 27 victory grants him another five-year term. He was elected for the first time in 2016. The National Elections Authority had declared him the winner with 53.16% of the votes.

After the opposition contested the result and requested a recount, the Constitutional Court annulled the results in some parts of the country. Thus, the participation rate, initially estimated at 76.31%, fell in half, to just 35.25%.

“Part of the Central African people, who are at war, were prevented by acts of terror ... and despite this, the people sent a strong and clear message to those who terrorized them, to those who told them not to vote, and to the whole world,” Daniele Darlan, head of the Constitutional Court, was quoted by local media as saying.

However, the Supreme Court rejected requests for a re-run election filed this month by 13 of the 16 candidates opposed to Touadera.

The elections in the CAR, a landlocked country in Central Africa, took place amid high tension as armed groups roamed the streets of the capital Bangui. Former President Francois Bozize, who returned from exile, was accused of supporting a rebellion and organizing a coup.