The Central African Republic voted in heavily guarded polling stations in the second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday after rebel violence misunderstood December’s votes.
Voting began smoothly with only minor delays over the capital Bangui, the electoral body said. Small rows of residents could be seen waiting to vote when a large number of police and gendarmerie stood by.
“Things are going well in Bangui so far,” The National Election Authority spokesman Theophile Momokoama said by telephone.
Authorities are keen to avoid a repeat of the turmoil surrounding the December vote when President Faustin Archange Touadera won re-election, but rebels backed by former President François Bozize sought to seize control over allegations of irregularities in the vote.
Insurgents besieged the capital Bangui in January, suffocating food supplies, forcing more than 200,000 people out of their homes and raising concerns that the country was slipping back into the kind of sectarian conflict that has killed thousands in the past decade.
Sunday’s vote included run-off votes in 49 constituencies and a first-round vote in 69 districts where violence prevented the vote from taking place in December.
The government and the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA have both expressed confidence that Sunday’s elections will be peaceful due to extra forces on the ground and the capture of rebel strongholds since their first offensive.
But the situation is far from stable in the gold- and diamond-rich nation of 4.7 million people who have seen repeated outbreaks of violence since Bozize was abolished in 2013.
Low turnout in December due to uncertainty led opposition candidates to challenge the legitimacy of the result.
Retired teacher Bertrand Dena, 50, said he was reassured by the heavy police presence at his polling station in Bangui.
“When you vote, you want peace,” he said.
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