President Faustin-Archange Touadera has won a second term after Central Africa's Dec. 27 presidential election, Reuters and other news reported Tuesday.
Based on provisional results announced by the country's electoral commission Monday, Archange secured over half of the total votes in the first round.
"Faustin-Archange Touadera, having secured a majority of the vote in the first round with 54%, is declared winner," electoral commission president Mathias Morouba told a media briefing in the capital, Bangui.
In second place was Anicet Georges Dologuele, who had 21% of the vote, followed by Martin Ziguele with 7.4%, results from the National Election Authority showed.
Dologuele, the former prime minister, rejected the results, claiming they were marred by fraud and irregularities. The results came moments after a prosecutor announced that the Bangui High Court had launched an inquiry into former President Francois Bozize as well as some accomplices.
The election was marred by a rebel group offensive in a bid to disrupt the vote after former Bozize's candidacy was dismissed by the war-torn nation's highest court. Bozize, a former general who seized power during a 2003 military takeover, was overthrown in a 2013 coup.
The Central African Republic has faced deadly inter-religious fighting since 2013, when Muslim Seleka rebels seized power from Bozize after long claiming marginalization.
Attacks and the destruction of polling equipment, including during election day, prevented voting in several towns. Morouba said roughly 910,000 people had registered to vote and election turnout was 76%.
International observers said the election went well, but violence kept many people from going to vote in other parts of the country, despite the presence of law enforcement and peacekeeping troops sent in by Russia, Congo and Rwanda following a pre-vote attack.
