BANGUI, Central African Republic — President Faustin-Archange Touadéra won a third term with 76.15% of the vote in the Central African Republic’s Dec. 28 presidential election, according to provisional results released by the election authority, Jan. 5, 2026.
The landslide, paired with 52.42% turnout, immediately drew challenges from leading rivals and the broader opposition coalition, which says the vote was neither free nor fair and is demanding the results be thrown out.
Touadéra’s win and the next legal steps
Figures published by the electoral commission put former prime minister Anicet-Georges Dologuélé in second place with 14.66% and another former prime minister, Henri-Marie Dondra, at 3.19%. Dologuélé rejected the tally and said he had won, as other opposition figures pointed to alleged irregularities in parts of the country.
Under the election calendar, the Constitutional Court is expected to review petitions and certify the final result by a mid-January deadline. Touadéra’s camp has urged challengers to use the courts rather than the streets, as supporters celebrated the announcement in the capital.
International observers and analysts have noted that Touadéra’s campaign leaned heavily on a security message, arguing that government forces and allied partners have pushed back armed groups in recent years. Read the provisional-results breakdown in Reuters’ report on the election commission announcement and the Associated Press’ account of the vote and reaction.
What the opposition says about Touadéra
The main opposition grouping boycotted the campaign and voting, arguing that state resources and the security environment tilted the playing field. The election was held alongside votes for legislative and local offices, raising the stakes for parties trying to maintain a foothold beyond the presidency. For election-day context, see Africanews’ reporting on the mostly calm polling and Al Jazeera’s preview of Touadéra’s third-term bid.
How Touadéra got to a third term
Touadéra first won the presidency in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. A constitutional overhaul later removed presidential term limits, clearing the way for his 2025 run and turning this contest into a referendum on whether the country’s fragile stability should be traded for deeper executive power. Reuters detailed the government’s plan to change the term-limit rules in its May 2023 coverage of the proposed referendum, and January 2021 dispatch previously reported Touadéra’s disputed 2020 re-election.
The country’s political backdrop remains shaped by years of conflict that erupted in 2013 and a 2019 accord meant to reduce fighting with armed groups — a deal that has faced repeated strain. February 2019 report described the signing of that agreement in a Khartoum-brokered peace deal.
For now, Touadéra’s opponents are betting the court process — and public pressure — can still overturn the provisional count. Touadéra is betting that a clear margin and control of state institutions will carry him through certification and into another term.
