President of Central African Republic Touadera wins reelection

As per the provincial results released on January 4, 2021, the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera has been reelected with more than 53% of the votes.

The elections were on December 27, 2020, and its aftermath was marked by violence as the rebel groups in the region tried to take hold of the city of Bangassou before the results were announced.

The 63 years old President Touadera has been in power since 2016. As a large part of the nation is under armed militia, the elected President has struggled to seize control. The results of the elections will still be officially validated by the constitutional court, which will process any appeals.

The Central African Republic, a country in Central Africa, is a major producer of gold and diamonds and has a population of around 4.7 million.

Rebel attacks in the Central African Republic:

President Touadera has blamed much of the rebel attacks and electoral unrest on the former President of the country, Francois Bozize, whose candidacy was rejected by the top court of the country on the grounds that he was not able to satisfy the ‘good morality’ requirement.

In a statement, Touadera had mentioned that at the head of this association of criminals is the former President Bozize who is supported by his political allies. The attacks have been aimed at overthrowing the institutions of the Republic to put an end to the democratic process.

The country has seen waves of violence since President Bozize was ousted in 2013. It resulted in thousands being killed and millions were forced to flee from their homes.

An investigation was launched into Bozize as well as his accomplices for their role in the disruption to the election process in the country.

UN speaks out against violence:

The United Nations mission to the country had also spoken out against the violence in the Central African Republic. The Head of the UN Mission, Mankeur Ndiaye, while commenting on the violence had stated that there is no doubt that these attacks have taken place with the purpose of causing disruptions to the elections- before, during, and after the electoral polls.