Candidates denounce partial results in CAR's presidential polls

Twenty candidates in the Central African Republic’s general election denounced the provisional results of the 30 December presidential polls, which gave a commanding lead to former Prime Minister, Faustin Archange Touadéra.

In a joint statement, the twenty candidates reported numerous irregularities of the partial results released by the National Electoral Authority.

They said they refused to be “complicit in the electoral masquerade” and called for the whole process to be “purely and simply stopped”.

They invited all players to get around the negotiating table “to draw up ways of safeguarding the nation”.

The candidates include Karim Meckassoua, a former foreign minister from the minority Muslim community.

Mr. Touadéra, who was an outsider before the elections garnered 146,775 votes, more than 23% of the votes counted so far, while another former Prime Minister, Anicet Georges Dologuelé, received the official support of former President François Bozizé‘s party got 109,519 votes, around 13% of the votes.

The international community hailed the voting process since no major incidences were recorded.

In total, thirty candidates contested the poll, to replace interim leader Catherine Samba-Panza.

However, votes outside the country’s capital Bangui, as well as those of refugees and the diaspora, still need to be counted.

The presidential race is likely to go to a run-off on 31 January.

The presidential race is seen as vital to restoring stability in the former French colony after years of unrest.

#CentralAfricanRepublic candidates call for halt to 'tainted' election guardian https://t.co/u8EvTvGbZk #CARcrisis pic.twitter.com/s7KmZ3FrWY

— Cecile Pilot (cecile_pilot) January 4, 2016