Bangui – Two candidates in Central African Republic’s presidential race have on Wednesday in Bangui demanded for manual recount of ballots cast in last month’s first-round vote, saying that widespread irregularities undermined the credibility of the results.
The election appears set to head to a second round after provisional results showed two former Prime Ministers, Anicet Dologuele and Faustin Touadera, in the lead but neither winning an outright majority.
Observers have praised the mainly peaceful nature of the Dec. 30 polls, which many hope would help put an end to years of deadly inter-religious bloodshed.
However, Andre Kolingba and Martin Ziguele, who finished third and fourth and are both members of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for Transition (AFDT) political platform, are disputing the result.
The AFDT said in a separate statement demanded an audit of the collection chain for electoral data, a manual recount of candidates’ ballots, and the publication of the recount.
“The organisation of these elections by the National Elections Authority was tarnished by dysfunction and numerous irregularities which are of a nature to discredit the results of the polls,”
Central African Republic descended into turmoil in early 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority Christian nation, provoking reprisals by Christian militia fighters.
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Around one in five Central Africans has been displaced in the ensuing violence, leading to de facto partition along religious and ethnic lines. (Reuters/NAN)