On December 28, 2025, current President Faustin Touadera (MCU, centre-left) of the Central African Republic will seek a third consecutive term. The move comes after the passage of a new constitution that abolished the term limit for presidents. The presidential election will occur alongside the first round of parliamentary elections on the same day, as well as the much-anticipated local elections that have been delayed for the past 40 years.
Due to the country’s ongoing struggle against insurgents, weak economic and political institutions, and state repression, the results of the December elections are unlikely to be fully free or fair.
Background
The Central African Republic has been in a state of near-constant warfare since the country’s former president, Francois Bozizé (KNK, right-wing), was ousted in 2013. Bozize’s ousting was orchestrated by a rebel group calling themselves “Séléka” — “union” in the Sango language.
A former rebel leader himself, Bozizé initially seized power in 2003 after having ousted the previous president, Ange-Félix Patassé (MLPC, centre-left). Bozizé’s first term as president began a year before the outbreak of the Central African Bush War (2004-2007); however, after three years, Bozizé was able to negotiate a ceasefire with many of the rebel groups that opposed his rule.
Months before being ousted by Séléka, Bozize agreed to a national unity government with the group. Touadera, then serving as prime minister, was removed as a result of the document signed in January 2013. Days after the signing, both the government and Séléka blamed each other for the ensuing resumption in hostilities. By the end of March, Séléka had seized control of the government, inaugurating the CAR’s first Muslim president, Michel Djotodia.
Séléka rule lasted barely a year; Djotodia and his government eventually resigned due to international pressure from the Economic Community of Central African States. Djotodia was replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza as interim president. For some time, Séléka and its main opponents, the “anti-balaka,” accepted her presidency, but the country would quickly be in the midst of a new conflict for the next six years.
In the midst of renewed conflict, in 2016, Touadera was elected president in the second round of voting. Since then, he has invited Russian mercenaries to shore up his government and implemented a new constitution that effectively abolished term limits, allowing him to run again in the upcoming election despite already having served two terms.
Political Institutions
The Central African Republic, under the 2023 Constitution, operates as a unitary presidential republic. Before the 2023 Constitution, the president was elected to a five-year term, which was increased to seven after the new constitution’s adoption.
The country has a nominally independent Constitutional Court. But in the run-up to the 2023 constitutional referendum, the Court found that Touadera’’s referendum could not legally be held. Touadera then sackedthe Chief Justice in a move that was described as a “self-coup” by the opposition.
Other provisions in the 2023 constitution, besides abolishing term limits and lengthening the President’s tenure, included the introduction of the Vice President as a position, requiring both the presidential candidate and their parents to be born in the country, and the de jure abolition of the country’s Senate.
The State of Democracy
According to V-dem, the CAR’s score places it in the “electoral autocracy” category with a rating of 0.3 out of 1. This puts it slightly ahead of Cameroon, at 0.29 out of 1. The country’s Freedom House comparison, meanwhile, gives it only a 5 out of a possible 100, making it one of the least free states in the world according to the metric.
Measuring press freedom brings similar conflicting results. According to RSF’s Press Freedom Index, in 2025, the CAR has a score of 60.15/100, giving it the “Satisfactory” rating, putting it ahead of Senegal, one of West Africa’s more stable democracies.
At the same time, according to RSF, the government has criminalised certain press offences and passed a “foreign agent” law akin to Russia’s. Journalists and independent media have routinely been harassed and intimidated in its wake.
Due to the fact that literacy rates are so low, radio is the main source of news for much of the country. Radio Ndeke Luka is one of the nation’s most trusted sources and currently receives the vast majority of its funding from international donors like the EU, which contributes 70% of the outlet’s budget according to the station’s website.
The NGO scene is highly active; however, much of it is in the form of foreign aid to the point where there isn’t much space for home-grown organisations. Armed conflict, a lack of organisational infrastructure, and state repression have all contributed to the lack of homegrown civil society organisations in the CAR.
The Security Situation
All of this is exacerbated by the difficult security situation in the country.
The military, while on paper comprising around 10,000 soldiers, is largely ineffective. Its most capable troops, the Republican Guard, serve mainly as Touadera’s personal security service, a task shared with the Russian mercenaries in the country. Even with the presence of UN peacekeepers, much of the country’s northern and eastern regions remain in rebel hands.
In April of 2025, a peace deal was reached between the government and several rebel groups, although fighting remained sporadic in much of the country. The Chair of the African Union Commission welcomed the agreement as being an example of “African solutions to African Problems” as the two rebel groups involved were among the most powerful in the country.
The Election
The elections come amid an attempt earlier this year to clamp down on the country’s opposition. Parliamentarians have been arrested, and opposition parties have been barred from holding rallies, according to Siegle and Whila from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
Between the general election and February of 2025, the UN’s mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) was able to register an additional 570,000 voters in a country of 5.7 million. In contrast, only 655,054 voters turned out in the last general election out of roughly 1.86 million registered, or a turnout rate of around 35%. The increase in eligible voters by itself does not indicate a significant swing in support in favour of the opposition or the government. Furthermore, the pan-African pollster Afrobarometer, essentially the only pollster in many African countries, does not publish data from the CAR. Parliamentary election results have frequently been announced without including which parties received which share of the vote. The security situation also makes conducting useful opinion polls extremely difficult.
Touadera’s United Hearts Movement (centre-left) currently controls 44 out of 140 seats in the nation’s de facto unicameral body. It is the largest single party by far, although the party system in the country is exceptionally weak. Minor parties and independents together occupy 64 seats, about 46% of the total. The second strongest party in parliament, Kwa Na Kwa (right-wing), was and continues to largely be a vehicle for ex-President Francois Bozize and his allies in the country. The third strongest party in parliament is the Union for Central African Renewal (liberal), founded by Anicet-Georges Dologuélé. In practice, Dologuélé has been the runner-up in the last two elections featuring Touadera, and as of this writing, is cleared to run again.
In July of 2025, the government announced that the first local elections in 40 years would take place on the same day as the general election in late December. Repeated delays have caused concerns from civil society and the opposition. At the same time, the government has argued that holding the local elections on the same day would streamline logistics and save resources.
Going Forward
In a report to the UN Security Council in June 2025, Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix argued that the December elections would “represent a crucial opportunity” for the country going forward.
However, given the weak institutions of the state, successful elections cannot solve the CAR’s political and security situation overnight. Years of committed reforms aimed at shoring up the country’s political and economic institutions, along with international engagement, will be needed if the CAR is to ever emerge as a functioning liberal democracy.