2011 Central African general election

The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) was established in August 2009 to oversee the elections. Headed by Joseph Binguimale, the CEI was composed of 30 members, 15 of whom represented the opposition (both the civilian opposition and former rebel groups). However, the opposition announced on 15 January 2010 that it was suspending its participation on the CEI due to its objections to Binguimale's leadership of the body. According to the opposition, Binguimale showed blatant favoritism toward President Bozizé and the pro-Bozizé National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa" party, and it demanded Binguimale's resignation. Opposition leader Jean-Jacques Demafouth denounced Binguimale, saying that he was guilty of "breaching his oath, a total absence of independence, scheming with the aim of promoting massive fraud, dubious morality and notorious incompetence". CEI spokesman Rigobert Vondo said that the CEI would "continue to make progress on the electoral process with those who are left".[2]

It was initially proposed to hold the elections on 18 April 2010, with a second round on 23 May.[3] However, the opposition objected to that date, saying that it was too early.[4] Subsequently, the date of the first round was set for 25 April 2010.

In mid-March 2010, the government claimed to have thwarted a coup plot. Jules Bernard Ouandé, the Minister of National Security, expressed unwillingness to reveal the leader of the coup plot, but his reference to the involvement of someone called "AFP" indicated that the government was implicating Ange-Félix Patassé in the plot. Patasse, who was President from 1993 until he was ousted by Bozizé in March 2003, had declared his candidacy in the election. Responding to the suggestion of his involvement in the plot, Patasse said that he was not involved and argued that the government might be intending to use the allegation to sideline his candidacy. He vowed to win the election, noting that he had previously won elections in 1993 and 1999.[5]

On 30 March 2010, Bozizé decreed a postponement of the election date by three weeks, rescheduling it for 16 May. That move was widely anticipated due to the slow progress of electoral preparations.[6] However, the opposition coalition, the Forces of Change Collective, wanted a longer delay and felt that pushing the date back by three weeks was entirely insufficient to address its concerns. The government was apparently unwilling to delay the election any further, and consequently the coalition announced on 9 April 2010 that it would boycott both the presidential and the parliamentary election. According to coalition spokesman Nicolas Tiangaye, the "conditions ... do not guarantee credibility, reliability and transparency." The deadline for candidate applications was later on the same day at midnight, and Tiangaye said that none of the coalition's members had submitted applications for either election.[7]

President Bozizé held a meeting with the CEI and an assortment of political actors on 29 April 2010. At the meeting, the CEI said that it would be impossible to hold the election as planned on 16 May, as the preparations were nowhere near completion. According to the CEI, the revised voter rolls would not be ready by 16 May, voter cards had not been printed, and the CEI had far less money than needed to complete the preparations. It estimated that a sum of 5.3 million euros was needed. Immediately following the meeting, Bozizé publicly accepted that the 16 May date could not be met: "We will go to the polls when all the parties involved in these elections, including the international community, will be ready." Recognizing that the delay could mean that the election would be held after the constitutional end of his term on 11 June 2010, he said that the National Assembly would need to take the appropriate steps to enable him to continue in office beyond that point.[8]

On 3 May 2010, the National Assembly accordingly began debate on changing the constitution to allow the President and the National Assembly to remain in office beyond the end of their mandates if necessary due to the timing of an election. The opposition supported the change, but it was conscious of the case of Côte d'Ivoire's continuously postponed election and wanted the change to be accompanied by a political agreement.[9] The constitutional change was overwhelmingly approved by the National Assembly in a vote on 10 May 2010; 95 deputies voted in favor, six voted against, and one abstained.[10] An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people marched in Bangui on 19 May 2010 to express support for the move to extend Bozizé's term. In their slogans, they equated support for Bozizé with support for peace. Elie Ouéfio, the Secretary-General of the Presidency, said that the people had rallied against "a descent into hell for our country".[11] The Constitutional Court approved the term extensions on 25 May 2010.[12]

On 16 June 2010, the CEI proposed holding the election on 24 October 2010, believing that would allow sufficient time to properly organize the election. That date was not officially set, however, as only Bozizé could set a date through presidential decree.[13] Binguimale said that the CEI was "finally convinced that by 24 October, all of the challenges will be completely resolved."[14] However, ultimately Bozizé opted for a later date than the one recommended by CEI, apparently due to the ongoing security issues; in a decree announced on 30 July 2010, he set the date for the election as 23 January 2011, with campaigning scheduled to begin on 10 January.[15] The Central African Democratic Rally (RDC) and the prospective opposition candidate Jean-Jacques Demafouth quickly expressed support for the January 2011 date,[16] and the UFVN, the main opposition coalition, signed an agreement approving the new date on 11 August 2010. Speaking for the government, Fidele Ngouandjika expressed the hope that the broad political agreement on the January 2011 date would mean that international financial assistance for the election would come soon.[17]

On 27 July 2010 Binguimale once again postponed the elections, stating "What is delaying the final decision on these elections at the moment is that the European Union requires confirmation of a date prior to providing us financial assistance".[18] The elections were postponed again in July 2010 to 23 January 2011,[1][17] with a second round scheduled for 20 March 2011,[17] later postponed to 27 March 2011.

At a rally in Bangui on 15 March 2010, Bozizé announced that he would stand as a candidate for a second term as President.[4]

As a result of the opposition coalition's decision to boycott the elections, only two presidential candidates submitted applications before the deadline: François Bozizé and Ange-Félix Patassé. However, Patassé said on 10 April that he had reached an agreement with Bozizé that would be "beneficial for the whole Central African people". Although he did not clarify what sort of agreement had been reached, reports suggested that the agreement could produce a delay in the election.[19]

Ultimately five candidates registered for the presidential elections:[20]

• incumbent president François Bozizé (National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa")
• former president Ange-Félix Patassé (independent)
• former defence minister Jean-Jacques Démafouth (New Alliance for Progress, former political leader of the People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy)
• former PM Martin Ziguélé (Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People)
• Émile Gros Raymond Nakombo (Central African Democratic Rally)

Another candidate initially registered for the election, but was rejected on 8 January 2011 due to a bouncing cheque:[21]

• Justin Wilite (Congress for the African Renaissance)

The CEI began work on an operation to revise the voter rolls on 12 April; the operation was planned to conclude on 18 April. The opposition felt the revision was inadequate, believing that the voter rolls should be completely revised. The CEI announced on 16 April that a soldier had been killed in Vakaga Prefecture, located in the far north of the country, while escorting a group of CEI workers. The identity of the attackers was unclear, and the CEI characterized them as "bandits".[22]

On election day there were complaints of voting delays due to long lines.[23]

The Constitution Court upheld Bozizé's victory on 12 February 2011, rejecting the opposition appeals. The results were slightly revised in the final figures given by the Court; Bozizé's total was revised downward to 64.37%, while Patassé's score was raised to 21.41% and Ziguélé's score was raised to 6.8%. Ziguélé condemned the Court's decision: "This decision by the Court in no way changes our judgement. The Court ... decided to see nothing and to say nothing." He vowed "to continue the political struggle for democracy, for the rule of law".[26]

Bozizé was sworn in for his second term at a ceremony in Bangui on 15 March 2011, the eighth anniversary of his seizure of power in 2003.[27]