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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Central African Republic candidates call for halt to 'tainted' election | Central African Republic candidates call for halt to 'tainted' election |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Twenty out of the 30 candidates vying to be president of Central African Republic have demanded the election be scrapped after what they said was a tainted first round of voting. | Twenty out of the 30 candidates vying to be president of Central African Republic have demanded the election be scrapped after what they said was a tainted first round of voting. |
| In a joint statement on Monday, the dissenters cited what they described as irregularities and intimidation in balloting on 30 December, partial results of which have been published. | In a joint statement on Monday, the dissenters cited what they described as irregularities and intimidation in balloting on 30 December, partial results of which have been published. |
| They said they refused to be “complicit in this electoral masquerade” and called for the whole process to be “purely and simply stopped”. | They said they refused to be “complicit in this electoral masquerade” and called for the whole process to be “purely and simply stopped”. |
| They invited all players to get around the negotiating table “to draw up ways of safeguarding the nation”. | They invited all players to get around the negotiating table “to draw up ways of safeguarding the nation”. |
| Signatories include heavyweight candidate Karim Meckassoua, a former foreign minister from the minority Muslim community, who had been a pre-election frontrunner. | |
| Independent candidate Faustin-Archange Touadéra, a former prime minister, has taken a commanding lead in the presidential race, garnering more than 23% of the vote with a quarter of the ballots counted, electoral officials said on Sunday. The former maths professor had been considered an outsider. | |
| Anicet-Georges Dologuélé, also a former prime minister, was in second place with Desire Kolingba, son of a former president, in third. | |
| A likely second round is set for 31 January. | A likely second round is set for 31 January. |
| The election is seen as vital to restoring stability in the former French colony after years of unrest. | The election is seen as vital to restoring stability in the former French colony after years of unrest. |
| About 2 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots for a new president and members of the 105-seat parliament. | About 2 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots for a new president and members of the 105-seat parliament. |
| Voting passed without major incident and was hailed as a success by the international community. | Voting passed without major incident and was hailed as a success by the international community. |
| One of the world’s poorest countries, with a history of coups and rebellions, the Central African Republic was plunged into fierce sectarian unrest in 2013 after longtime leader François Bozizé was ousted by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance. | One of the world’s poorest countries, with a history of coups and rebellions, the Central African Republic was plunged into fierce sectarian unrest in 2013 after longtime leader François Bozizé was ousted by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance. |
| Thousands of people were killed and about one in 10 fled their homes in attacks by rogue rebels on remote villages and brutal reprisals by Christian militia against Muslim communities. | Thousands of people were killed and about one in 10 fled their homes in attacks by rogue rebels on remote villages and brutal reprisals by Christian militia against Muslim communities. |
| UN and French peacekeepers helped restore a degree of calm in January 2014, when a transitional government took over, but large parts of the country remain lawless. | UN and French peacekeepers helped restore a degree of calm in January 2014, when a transitional government took over, but large parts of the country remain lawless. |