On Sunday, Central Africans voted in general elections. The UN Peace Mission in the country talked to a first-time voter about her hopes and dreams.
Voters turned out early to cast their votes in the 27 December 2020 general elections as the country goes to the polls.听Security in the country鈥檚 capital, Bangui, and other prefectures beefed up in the run-up to the elections 鈥� with MINUSCA UN peacekeepers patrolling the streets and guarding polling stations together with Central African security and defence forces.
At the Lyc茅e Boganda voting centre in Bangui, queues started to form as early as 5:00 a.m. in the morning 鈥� with young people making up the majority of the expectant voters. Peacekeepers from the MINUSCA Rwanda Contingent were on hand to ensure security. Election observers from MINUSCA, the National Elections Authority (ANE), the Constitutional Court of the Central African Republic, National Council for Youth (CNJ), Electoral Institute听for Sustainable听Democracy听in听Africa听(EISA)听and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), among others, were also present.
鈥淓lection day could not come soon enough for me,鈥澨齭aid Agathon Frederic Pali-Pali Grengon, who arrived to cast his ballot with eight members of his family.听鈥淰oting is a civic duty that the Central African electorate should embrace because this is how we will obtain peace, without which we cannot have stability in the country,鈥澨齢e added.听
鈥淎ll I want is democracy, nothing but democracy,鈥澨齭aid 26-year-old Boris Dote Ninon emphatically after voting.听鈥淚 have made a choice to vote so that we can have a president through peaceful means.鈥�
For Marie Claire Biro, election day is about her children. She ventured out to vote despite being scared by the tense security situation as elections approached. 鈥淗aving never gone to school, I know this is something I can do for my children. Voting is my way of asking for peace,鈥� she explained.
Elections are being held against the backdrop of increased security threats from armed groups and various political actors across the Central African Republic. On the eve of the elections, the UN announced that three peacekeepers from Burundi had lost their lives during an attack on UN and CAR troops in Dekoa, central Kemo prefecture, and in Bakouma, southern Mbomou prefecture on 26 December 2020.
鈥淭oday is about ensuring that the country follows a democratic path and consolidates peace,鈥澨齭aid the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Denise Brown, while on a tour of several voting centres in Bangui on election day.
鈥淧eople have come out in large numbers to exercise their right to vote. This is something to celebrate, because we know that there are many people who did everything they could to prevent the elections from taking place,鈥澨齭aid the Head of MINUSCA Mankeur Ndiaye while visiting the Lyc茅e Boganda polling centre in Bangui.
Over 1.8 million people registered to take part in the elections 鈥� 46.6 percent among them women.
