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Russian Foreign Ministry hopes presidential election in CAR to stabilize situation

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the election took place despite the uneasy security situation on the eve of the polling day

MOSCOW, January 6. /TASS/. Russia hopes that the success of the presidential election in the Central African Republic will help bring about stabilization, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a news release on Tuesday.

"We express the hope that the election’s success will contribute to normalization of the situation in the country and consolidate all constructively minded political forces for the sake of strengthening civil peace, order and the solution of urgent socio-economic development issues," the news release runs.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the election took place despite the uneasy security situation on the eve of the polling day.

The authorities managed to achieve this with assistance from the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and international partners, the Foreign Ministry said.

On January 4, the chief of the CAR’s National Election Commission, Mathias Barthelemy Moruba, said the incumbent president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, emerged the winner in the first round of the presidential election on December 27, having collected 53.9% of the votes. Seven candidates contested the presidential seat. The turnout was 76.3%.

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