Central African Republic: Peaceful Ballots for the 2nd Round of Presidential Elections and the First Round of Legislative Elections

Following a first round of voting on 30 December for the presidential elections, without any major incident and with a participation rate of around 80 per cent, almost two million Central Africans went to the polls again on Sunday, 14 February 2016 for the second round. The voting was held together with the "new" first round of parliamentary elections, the previous one having been cancelled by the Transitional Constitutional Court.

"We needed this vote to have a democratically elected head of state. The President who will be elected will express the will of the people. He will be the one who will represent the people and act on behalf of the people, and it is our hope is that this country will end the deadlock that has lasted for such a long time," said Onyanga Owabe, a citizen of the 2nd arrondissement. He welcomed the progress that his country has made towards peace, which he believes is due to the efforts of the international community and even due to the Pope's visit to the Central African Republic. "Peace is beginning to return to our country. It's been two years that I have not set foot in the Bangui neighbourhood of Km 5, but recently, I went there twice. The last time, I attended the signing ceremony of the pact between Muslims and Christians, I was very moved," he added.

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