CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – General elections in Central African Republic begun early Sunday Dec. 28, with the incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadera seeking a third term.

Voters were casting their ballots in presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections.

Roughly 2.3 million people are eligible to take part in the election at 6,762 polling stations, according to the National Elections Authority. Polling stations will close at 1700GMT.

The presidential election attracted seven candidates, and preliminary results are expected on Jan. 5.

Touadera, 68, is poised to win the election, according to analysts.

He was first elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020 with 53.16% of the vote in the first round.

The country’s 2023 constitutional referendum removed term limits and increased the term of office to seven, allowing Touadera to run for a third term.

He announced his candidacy for a third term at the congress of his party, the United Hearts Movement (MCU), in July.

He focused his campaign on security issues, promising to improve the country’s security after his government signed peace deals with several armed groups.

He also promised infrastructure projects for education, health, water and electricity.

The opposition, however, accuses Touadera of clinging to power following the constitutional referendum, which scrapped presidential term limits.

Main opposition candidates Anicet-Georges Dologuele and former Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra denounced the alleged blockages of their campaign in the provinces, a claim rejected by the incumbent’s camp.

Dologuele, 68, was the runner-up in the 2020 presidential race. During campaigns, he promised stronger democratic institutions and better international alliances.

Dondra, 59, is running on his Republican Unity party ticket. He served as prime minister under Touadera between 2021 and 2022.

The candidate with an absolute majority will be declared the winner. However, in case of no outright winner in the first round, a runoff vote will be conducted.

An opposition coalition, the Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution, boycotted the election, citing delays in approving the main opposition candidates.

Meanwhile, there are 687 candidates in the legislative elections and 226 in the regional elections.

The African Union has deployed a team of observers to monitor the election.

Notably, municipal elections have not been held in the Central African Republic since 1988 and are a key provision of the 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation.

The Central African Republic has long grappled with violence. Despite the 2019 agreement, insecurity persists in parts of the country, with more than two million people in need of assistance and nearly one million displaced at home or abroad, according to the UN.