CAR Election Authority Sets Date Of 1st Municipal Elections In Over 30 Years

The National Elections Authority (ANE) of the Central African Republic (CAR) announced on Thursday that the country will hold its first municipal elections in more than 30 years on September 11

BANGUI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2022) The National Elections Authority (ANE) of the Central African Republic (CAR) announced on Thursday that the country will hold its first municipal elections in more than 30 years on September 11.

"I would like to assure you that these elections will take place. We were in Cameroon together with the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) where we met with ambassadors of Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Italy, Spain and Japan. The prospects are good," ANE chairman Mathias Barthelemy Morouba said in a statement.

The African nation was plunged into a security crisis by a coup 2013, followed by violence between Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka fighters.

The government and the leaders of 14 armed groups signed a peace deal in February 2019 to put an end to the fighting. However, the authorities have yet to regain control of large parts of the country's territory. In December 2020 the car held a presidential election, as a result of which the national constitutional court confirmed the victory of President Faustin-Archange Touadera with over 53% of the vote in the first round. Some electoral districts were unable to cast ballots in rebel-controlled areas, and some only managed to hold a partial vote owing to intimidation by armed militias. In January 2021, the country's constitutional court validated President Touadera's victory.