More than 14 percent of polling stations in the Central African Republic (CAR) failed to operate during Sunday’s presidential and legislative election due to armed rebels who attacked voters and barred electoral staff, the electoral commission said.
About 800 out of a total 5,408 polling stations nationwide did not open, Theophile Momokouama, an executive of the electoral authority, told a news conference in Bangui on Monday.
“There were localities where voters were brutalised, threatened with death. The electoral staff were forbidden to deploy on the ground,” Momokouama said.
Evariste Mongo, a member of the local administration, said on Monday the attacks occurred in the western cities of Carnot, Nola and Bambari. No injuries were reported.