Central African Republic candidates call for halt to vote count, claiming fraud

People stand in line outside a polling station to cast their ballots during elections in Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.

The elections, for the presidency and 105-seat parliament, are seen as key to stabilising the country after three years of fierce sectarian conflict.

Two former prime ministers are running neck-to-neck in presidential elections to end years of violence pitting Muslims against Christians in the Central African Republic, with two-thirds of votes counted Saturday.

It said Faustin Archange Touadera, prime minister until 2013, had shifted from first to second place, while Anicet Georges Dologuele, another ex-prime minister, climbed to first place.

Hopes were that the election would stop the cycle of violence that intensified when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the mostly Christian nation in early 2013, provoking reprisals from Christian anti-balaka militias. Both men are Christian.

Bilal Nzanga-Kolingba, son of a former president, was third while Jean Serge Bokassa, son of a late dictator, was fourth, election authority spokesman Julius Rufin Ngouade said.

About one million people from a population of 5 million have been driven from their homes by fighting and campaigns of ethnic and religious cleansing.

In a joint statement, the twenty candidates reported numerous irregularities of the partial results released by the National Electoral Authority. Ballots from all provinces were in the capital Bangui and only those from refugees in Chad and Cameroon were outstanding, he said.

“We demand pure and simply that this set-up be stopped and we invite all relevant actors to sit round a table to figure out the best way to save the nation”, said Kapou, who spoke on behalf of the others.

The election for a president and legislators from 1.8 million registered voters comes almost a month after Pope Francis visited the country and called for peace and reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.