General elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 to elect the President and National Assembly. A second round was held for both elections on May 8, marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup, overthrowing President Ange-Félix Patassé. A new constitution was approved in a referendum in December 2004 and took effect the same month.
The presidential elections saw Bozizé attempt to win a five-year term after two years as transitional leader, alongside ten other candidates, with Patassé excluded from running. As no candidate received over 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held between Bozizé and former Prime Minister Martin Ziguélé, resulting in a victory for Bozizé, who received 64.6% of the vote. He was inaugurated on 11 June.
In the simultaneous parliamentary elections, the National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa" party emerged as the largest in the National Assembly, winning 42 of the 105 seats, whilst the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People emerged as the second-largest party with 12 seats.
Background The elections had originally been planned for December 2004 or January 2005, with the election date announced on August 28, 2004: January 30, 2005, with a run-off date of February 27."Central African Republic sets dates in 2005 for elections", Agence France-Presse (AFP), August 28, 2004. The elections were, however, subsequently delayed to February 13 by a decree of president Bozizé in mid-December 2004."Elections postponed; possible candidate goes on trial", Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), December 14, 2004. In late January 2005, they were delayed further by one month to March 13."Election postponed, but most banned candidates can now run", IRIN, January 25, 2005. They were held on this date, and the second round of the elections, initially scheduled for May 1, took place on May 8.
Candidates
After taking power with the seizure of the capital, Bangui, on March 15, 2003, Bozizé said that his rule was a transitional period, and that he would step down at the end of the transition."Bozize to step down after transitional period", IRIN, April 28, 2003. In 2004, however, speculation increased that he intended to run in the presidential election that would mark the end of the transition, with many of his supporters calling on him to run. Eventually, following a referendum on a new constitution on December 5, 2004, Bozizé announced his candidacy in the presidential election as an independent candidate on December 11, 2004, while speaking to supporters. He cited what he considered the will of the people in his decision: After thinking thoroughly, and being deeply convinced and keeping in mind the nation's interest, I grasped the deep sense of my people's calls. As a citizen, I'll take my responsibility. I'll contest the election to achieve the task of rebuilding the country, which is dear to me and according to your wish."Bozize to contest presidency as independent candidate", IRIN, December 13, 2004.
Ten other candidates also contested the presidential election, including one former president and three former prime ministers. André Kolingba, who ruled the Central African Republic from 1981 until his defeat in the 1993 election, was the candidate of the Central African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement démocratique centrafricain). He came in second in the September 1999 election, although Patassé defeated him by a wide margin."Elections in the Central African Republic" , African Elections Database. Abel Goumba also ran as the candidate of the Patriotic Front for Progress (Front patriotique pour le progrès); a long-time politician, he served as prime minister in the late 1950s and again from March to December 2003, following Bozizé's seizure of power, subsequently becoming vice-president under Bozizé until being dismissed shortly after the first round of the election."Bozize sacks his deputy", IRIN, March 16, 2005. He previously ran for president in 1981, 1993, and 1999; in 1993 he came in second place and was defeated by Patassé in the run-off. Additionally, Martin Ziguélé, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2003 (Patassé's last prime minister prior to his ouster), contested the election, along with Jean-Paul Ngoupandé of the National Unity Party (Parti de l'unité nationale), who was prime minister from 1996 to 1997.
The other candidates were former defense minister Jean-Jacques Démafouth, the lawyer Henri Pouzère, who was previously a presidential candidate in 1999, then taking about 4% of the vote, Charles Massi of the Democratic Forum for Modernity (Forum démocratique pour la modernité), also a 1999 candidate, then taking a little over 1% of the vote, Olivier Gabirault of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (l'Alliance pour la démocratie et le progrès), Auguste Boukanga of the Union for Renewal and Development (l'Union pour la Renaissance et le développement) and Pasteur Josué Binoua.
Events and controversy
In late March 2004, the National Transitional Council voted by a large majority in favor of a bill setting up a body to oversee the planned elections, the Commission électorale mixte indépendante (CEMI), which was initially planned to have 45 to 60 members."Electoral commission set up", IRIN, April 1, 2004. This was re-examined by National Transitional Council at the government's request in April 2004, and on April 30, Bozizé issued the decree promulgating it."The situation in the Central African Republic and the activities of the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic: Report of the Secretary-General", United Nations Security Council, June 16, 2004; "PORTANT ORGANISATION, COMPOSITION ET FONCTIONNEMENT DE LA COMMISSION ELECTORALE MIXTE INDEPENDANTE «CEMI»", presidential decree.
On May 24, 2004, Bozizé approved 30 members of CEMI who had been chosen by three groups: political parties, professional groups, and the national administration. Each of these three groups chose 10 of the members, although the country's 44 parties took some time to reach a compromise on who should be their 10 members."Electoral commission appointed in Central African Republic", AFP, May 25, 2004. The 31st and last member of CEMI, its president, was not named at this time, however. The 30 members were sworn in on June 4. Jean Willybiro-Sako was subsequently chosen as president of the commission, selected out of four candidates, two of whom were nominated by the prime minister and two by the president of the National Transitional Council.
Earlier in the year, Alpha Oumar Konaré, the chairman of the commission of the African Union and former president of Mali, reportedly urged Bozizé not to stand for election. Bozizé gave an interview to Radio France Internationale on May 17 in which he refused to say whether or not he would run, but he confirmed that Konaré had spoken to him about it, while criticizing Konaré for what he called interference in the country's affairs, and wondering whether he had consulted the opinions of the Central African people before getting involved. He stressed that the matter would depend on the will of the people. Some of his supporters campaigned prominently for him to stand. About 5,000 people walked in Bangui on June 19 to support his candidacy;""Sans Bozizé, pas de vote" en 2005, ont scandé les marcheurs", AFP (Sangonet.com), June 19, 2004 . Bozizé thanked them and asked for time to reflect.
An electoral census was conducted from October 16 to October 29, 2004; it was initially planned to end on October 24 but was extended for several days."Fin du recensement électoral en Centrafrique", AFP, October 29, 2004 .
In November 2004, former president Ange-Félix Patassé, who was living in exile in Togo following his 2003 ousting by Bozizé, was nominated as the presidential candidate of his party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain, MLPC)."Patasse to run as party's candidate in Central African Republic vote", AFP, November 22, 2004. In December, Abel Goumba and Henri Pouzère submitted applications to run."Veteran vice president to contest Central African election", AFP, December 16, 2004.
On December 30, the transitional constitutional court decided that all but five candidates—Bozizé, André Kolingba, Abel Goumba, Henri Pouzère, and former minister Auguste Boukanga—would be excluded from running for various reasons. Patassé was among the seven who were barred, which the court said was due to problems with his birth certificate, as well as with his land title."Présidentielle en RCA: seuls cinq candidats admis à se présenter", AFP, December 30, 2004 . In rejecting the candidacy of Jean-Jacques Démafouth, it said that there was a conflict between the date of birth given on his birth certificate (October 3, 1950) and that given in his declaration of candidacy and criminal record (October 3, 1959)."La Rédaction/Centrafrique Presse", TchadForum, January 8, 2005 . The other candidates who were rejected were Martin Ziguélé, Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Charles Massi, Olivier Gabirault, and Pasteur Josué Binoua.
Prior to the court's decision, three of the 15 initial candidates had already withdrawn from the race, leaving only 12 candidacies to judge. Fidèle Gouandjika, who took less than 1% of the vote in the 1999 presidential election, withdrew in favor of Bozizé on December 23."Présidentielles: Fidèle Gouandjika se désiste en faveur de M. Bozizé" , Le Figaro, December 23, 2004 . Joseph Bendounga, a former mayor of Bangui and an opponent of Bozizé's transitional government, announced his withdrawal on the morning of December 30 because he could not pay the required guarantee of five million CFA francs; he had been named as a candidate by his party, the Democratic Movement for Renewal and Development in Central Africa, in May 2004."Opposition presidential candidate chosen in Central Africa", AFP, May 20, 2004. Enoch Dérant-Lakoué, who was prime minister for several months in 1993 and took a little more than 1% in the 1999 election, withdrew as well.