Citizens of the Central African Republic trooped out on Sunday to vote in Presidential and legislative elections amid violence in the country.
Rebels shot sporadically in some areas of the country to scare voters away. The rebels are known to be against incumbent, Faustin-Archange Touadera, who is seeking a second term in office.
The constitutional court in the country rejected most of Touadera’s strongest opposition, leading to a rebellion by several groups in the country. One of the rejected candidates is Francois Bozize, a former President of the country.
The rebels have also threatened to bring violence to Bangui, the seat of government and capital city.
Touadera is up against 17 other candidates but is largely expected to make a clean sweep.
Citizens defied the violence to come out in their numbers to elect their future, with a section of the country querying the timing of the election.
United Nations’ Security forces have been in the country with about 12,800 soldiers from the UN on ground. Rwanda and Russia are also said to have provided security support for Touadera’s government as he seeks a re-election.
Read: CAR Accuses Former President of Plotting A Coup
The 1.8m registered voters in the country have stayed true to their desire to see exercise their franchise by putting their lives on the line.
The UN has said despite the security situation of the country, a good number of citizens came out to vote.
Recall that the national government accused former President, Bozize of plotting a coup in the country.