Low turnout has been reported as the Central African Republic voted in a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term.
Some 1.9 million people were called on to cast their ballots at polls on Sunday, which closed at 5.00 pm local time - an hour later than initially planned after some delays in opening stations.
Provisional results are not expected for eight days, while the constitutional court is scheduled to publish the definitive outcome on 27 August, according to the national electoral authority.
In 2020 Touadera won a second five-year term, after a vote interrupted by several incursions by armed rebel groups.
He also had to overcome allegations of fraud.
His rivals now claim that he wants to remain "president for life" - under the increasingly visible protection of private Russian mercenary group Wagner, which first deployed to the CAR in 2018.
The country of 5.5 million people is one of the world's poorest.
Centrafrique : à Bangui, une journée de vote sans affluence mais sous haute sécurité https://t.co/JG8e5oLgvH-- Le Monde Afrique (@LeMonde_Afrique) July 30, 2023
Boycott
Attendance was reportedly low at polling stations in the capital Bangui, where Touadera cast his ballot in the morning.
The proposed new constitution would extend the presidential mandate from five to seven years and abolish the two-term limit.
Opinion polls suggest the "yes" vote is likely to triumph.
National assembly vice-president and presidential majority spokesman Evariste Ngamana has said, "We know that the 'yes' camp is going to win - but we shall put the emphasis on participation."
Meanwhile, the main opposition parties, civil groups and armed rebels all called on voters to boycott the exercise amid allegations that the results will be rigged.
Participants had to choose between a white ballot for "yes" and a red for "no", with several voters saying they were encouraged by election officials to choose "yes".
According to Richard Nganakwa, a resident of Bangui, "As soon as we registered to vote, they would say to take the white ballot instead of giving both ballots, I don't think that's normal."
Such incidents were reported at several stations.
The opposition had already complained about the lack of an up-to-date electoral register and said institutions tasked with guaranteeing a free and fair vote are not independent.
#Bangui, capitale de Wagner en Afrique | Election-net 👉 https://t.co/RuuqVvzW01-- ELECTION-NET (@ElectionNet) July 28, 2023
Russian influence
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However, voting took place without security incidents, across a vast territory where armed groups are engaged in guerrilla warfare.
Meanwhile, Touadera has announced that Russia and Rwanda - two states whose influence has been very much on the rise in the CAR in recent years - would be "supporting" security forces during the vote.
Police and soldiers reportedly deployed in the streets, as L-39 Albatros fighter jets - recently delivered by Russia - flew low over the capital for part of the day, along with army helicopters.
Since December 2020, hundreds of Wagner fighters and Rwandan troops have been deployed to face an offensive led by an alliance of the country's most powerful rebel groups, which have found themselves pushed into rural areas.
