Run-off votes will be held in 49 constituencies, and another 69 areas will hold the first round of voting, where the security situation in December made holding elections impossible.
Rebels attacked the capital Bangui at the start of the year, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, raising concerns that the country was deteriorating back into sectarian conflict.
President Faustin Archange Touadéra was re-elected in December, but opposition parties, said to be supported by former president François Bozizé, rejected the results, and the polls were beset with problems due to security threats.
The Central African army, supported by Russian and Rwandan troops, and bolstered by UN peacekeepers have slowly but surely taken back a number of key rebel strongholds since the original offensive.
The @ICRC has sent an aid convoy from #Cameroon to the Central African Republic (#CAR) with 135 tonnes of food – enough to feed almost 10,000 people displaced by violencehttps://t.co/Tg2B1iHwXc
— ReliefWeb (@reliefweb) March 10, 2021
📸ICRC pic.twitter.com/mL5MONbjuH
UN peacekeepers
The UN force in the CAR (MINUSCA) said it was satisfied with the preparation for the 14 March polls, saying that their force was much stronger and better positioned to help secure the elections.
Abdoul-Aziz Fall, spokesperson for MINUSCA, said the UN peacekeepers had been at full capacity for the 27 December polls, both fighting off rebel attacks and helping to transport electoral materials.
The rebel Coalition of Patriots for Change group has rejected progress made by the Central African military and its supporters, denying their advances, adding that Sunday’s vote would be a masquerade, Reuters news agency reported.
However, the authorities in Bangui are optimistic the vote will be peaceful, outlining successful military offensives and the securing of a key transport corridor for bringing supplies from northern Cameroon into the CAR.
In the Central African Republic, Russia is offering protection for President Touadéra's regime in exchange for mining rights. @Neil_A_Edwards examines Russia's strategy: https://t.co/JW3KUA7CBr
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) March 11, 2021
The UN has noted a significant spike in human rights violations by security forces and armed groups since December, with accusations of kidnapping civilians, shooting into crowds, and arson against polling stations. It also excuses state officials of torturing and killing civilians.
More than 276,000 people have been displaced in the Central African Republic since mid-December, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says it needs to help some 1.8 million people who have urgent humanitarian needs.
