Runoff to decide fate of Central African Republic poll

BANGUI, Central African Republic

Two former prime ministers will face off in the second round of Central African Republic's presidential election after no candidate secured more than 50 percent of the votes in the first stage, electoral officials announced late Thursday.

According to the officials, ex-premiers Anicet-Georges Dologuele led the poll with 23.78 percent votes, while Faustin Archange Touadera won 19.42 percent. They were followed by Bilal Kolingba with 12.6 percent votes, who is one of the two Muslim candidates.

Dologuele and Touadera will now enter the second round of polls due at the end of this month as soon as the country's constitutional court validates the elections announced by the National Elections Authority (ANE).

According to the authority, the voter turnout in the first round was 79 percent.

Dologuele served as the country’s prime minister between 1999 and 2001 during the rule of late president Ange-Felix Patasse.

Touadera served as premier between 2008 and 2013 during the rule of exiled former president Francois Bozize.

Election in Central African Republic is expected to end the transitional government put in place in 2013 when Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, a Christian who came to power in a 2003 coup.

Rebels then installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim, as interim president.

Djotodia stepped down in early 2014 to be replaced by Samba-Panza – a Christian – amid a wave of sectarian violence between the two communities.

The presidential election was slated for October 2015 in the war-torn Central African state, but was delayed due to the transitional government’s inability to safeguard the vote.