Peaceful CAR Election: A Vote for Stability or Incumbent Rule?

BANGUI, Central African Republic – December 29, 2025 – Citizens of the Central African Republic (CAR) cast their ballots in a largely peaceful general election on Sunday, a rare moment of calm in a nation long plagued by conflict. Domestic and international observers reported high voter turnout and an orderly process, providing a veneer of democratic success over a political landscape dominated by incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra's controversial bid for a third term.

Approximately 2.4 million registered voters had the opportunity to participate in an unprecedented quadruple ballot—for president, members of the National Assembly, regional councils, and, for the first time since 1988, local municipal leaders. The Réseau Arc-en-Ciel (RAC), the country's leading domestic observation network, confirmed that the polls, which closed at 6:00 p.m., proceeded without major security incidents, a sentiment echoed by observer missions from the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU). While the nation awaits the preliminary results from the National Elections Authority (A.N.E.) on January 5, the election is being framed as a crucial test of CAR's fragile stability.

A Display of Civic Duty Amidst Fragility

The quiet streets of Bangui on election day, patrolled by UN peacekeepers from the MINUSCA mission, stood in stark contrast to the violence that has defined much of CAR's recent history. The 2020 presidential election was severely disrupted by a rebel offensive, with turnout plummeting to just 35% as armed groups prevented voting in large swathes of the country. This year, the ability for 6,700 polling stations to operate nationwide, even in remote areas, is being hailed as a significant logistical and security achievement.

"The overall security of the country allowed voting to take place in a general atmosphere of calm," an AU delegation representative noted, calling the process "a step forward towards democracy."

This election's peaceful conduct is particularly significant given the country’s deep scars. Since its independence, the CAR has been rocked by coups and civil wars, most notably the 2013 conflict that plunged the nation into brutal sectarian violence. Armed groups still control significant territory, and despite numerous peace deals, insecurity and human rights abuses remain rampant outside the capital.

In this context, the high civic participation reported by observers is seen by some as a public yearning for normalcy and functional governance. The inclusion of municipal elections, the first in over three decades, represents a tentative step toward implementing a key provision of the 2019 Khartoum Peace Agreement: decentralization. Restoring local governance is considered essential for extending state authority and delivering basic services to a population where most live below the poverty line.

Touadéra's Third Term Bid Dominates Political Landscape

Despite the peaceful process, the election was held under the long shadow of President Touadéra's consolidated grip on power. In office since 2016, Touadéra ran for a third term after orchestrating a 2023 constitutional referendum that controversially removed presidential term limits and extended the mandate from five to seven years.

The move, which critics decried as a "constitutional coup," was boycotted by major opposition parties and civil society groups. The main opposition coalition, the Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution, called on voters to boycott Sunday's election, denouncing what it termed a rigged political environment designed to ensure Touadéra's victory.

Touadéra, running under the banner of his United Hearts Movement (MCU), campaigned heavily on his record of improving national security. This relative stability has been largely achieved with the help of foreign forces, particularly mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group (now being rebranded as Africa Corps) and Rwandan soldiers. This partnership has made the CAR one of Moscow's staunchest allies on the continent, granting Russia access to the nation's vast mineral wealth, including gold, diamonds, and uranium.

Analysts widely expect Touadéra to secure an outright victory in the first round, pointing to his control of state machinery and vastly superior financial resources. His main challengers, former Prime Ministers Anicet-Georges Dologuélé and Henri-Marie Dondra, were only cleared to run by the Constitutional Court late in the process after facing challenges to their eligibility. Human rights organizations warned that such obstructions, combined with a crackdown on dissent, created an uneven playing field and risked disenfranchising many voters.

The Watchful Eyes: Observers Lend Credibility

In an environment rife with political mistrust, the role of election monitors has been paramount. The positive assessment from Réseau Arc-en-Ciel, a domestic network supported by the European Union, carries significant weight. RAC's history of monitoring CAR's elections since 2015 has established it as a credible local voice on electoral integrity.

The alignment of RAC's findings with those of the AU and EU missions provides a crucial layer of legitimacy to the process. Their collective reports of a calm and accessible vote counter the narrative of a completely flawed election, even as they do not erase the underlying concerns about democratic backsliding. One local observer noted that the vote went "very well" at their station, with political party representatives behaving appropriately.

However, the process was not without minor flaws. Some reports indicated that citizens with valid voter cards were barred from voting because their names were missing from electoral rolls, while others not on the lists were allegedly allowed to cast ballots. Acknowledging the immense challenge of organizing four concurrent elections, the A.N.E. has urged patience and warned against the spread of "false statistics and purported outcomes on social media," reminding the public that it is the only body authorized to release official results.

Beyond the Ballot: Alliances, Stability, and an Uncertain Future

Should President Touadéra secure the expected victory, it will cement his power and likely deepen the CAR's strategic alliance with Russia. This partnership, while credited with pushing back rebel groups, has come at a high cost, with UN experts and rights groups documenting severe human rights abuses by both state forces and their Russian allies.

Economically, the country remains on a knife's edge. While the government projects modest growth, the nation is overwhelmingly dependent on international aid. Pervasive corruption, fuel shortages, and massive security expenditures drain the state's coffers, leaving little for development or basic services. For many Central Africans, the choice presented was not one of democratic ideals but a pragmatic vote for the perceived stability that Touadéra's administration, backed by its foreign allies, represents.

The critical question now is whether this stability can be translated into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens and the development of durable, democratic institutions. While the peaceful election day is a positive sign, the preceding constitutional changes and the stifling of political opposition suggest a trend toward authoritarian consolidation. The future of the Central African Republic may hinge on whether the government uses its renewed mandate to build a more inclusive society or simply to perpetuate a system of personalized power that has long failed its people.