CAR Bishop Expresses Hope for Peace after Successful Run-off

CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 25 February 2016

The Catholic Bishop of Bangassou in the Central African Republic (CAR), Juan José Aguirre Muños, has expressed hope for peace and tranquility following the election of a new president Faustin Archange Touadera.

The citizens of CAR elected former Prime Minister Faustin Touadera in a run-off contest after none of the 30 presidential candidates could secure the required 50 percent majority in the first round of voting.

The run-off was held on February 14 and the constitutional court had a week to validate the result, whose turnout was put at 61 percent.

The presidential election has been seen as an important step towards restoring peace.

Agenzia Fides has quoted Bishop Aguirre as saying, "At last we have a new President. What is important is that we have a new President that we hope will lead the country out of the abyss into which we had sunk three years ago.”

"The political situation gives us great hope now because we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but here in the Bangassou area we always live under the threat of the LRA, the guerrilla group of Ugandan origin that has raged for years, attacking villages in diocese", Bishop Aguirre, a Comboni Missionary, has been quoted as saying.

The Bishop has spoken about some “10 LRA groups who plunder villages, destroy barns and force young people to carry the stolen goods” adding that “in some cases, young people remain 5 to 10 days in the hands of the LRA, but many never return."

According to BBC, CAR’s new President has vowed to encourage reconciliation and disarmament.

In his campaigns ahead of the elections, Mr. Touadera’s supporters portrayed him as a peacemaker who can bridge the Christian-Muslim divide and boost CAR’s economy.

He has been quoted as saying, "These elections are important but they are not the only step out of this crisis" and that "We have to create the conditions for dialogue between the two communities. We will do everything we can so that Central Africans can live together in Central African Republic."

Mr. Touadera’s main rival in the run-off, Anicet Georges Dologuele, reluctantly accepted defeat saying he would honour the results and recognise Mr Touadera as president despite reservations about voting irregularities.

Mr. Dologuele who had also served as prime minister took the most votes in the first round, which took place on 30 December 2015.