SIBUT /CAR/, December 15. /TASS/. Russian instructors, together with the Central African Armed Forces (French: Forces armees centrafricaines; FACA) and gendarmerie, have ensured security at a rally in Sibut attended by President Faustin-Archange Touadera, TASS reports from the scene.
"The FACA, gendarmerie, and GSPR (Presidential Guard - TASS), with the support of Russian specialists, provided security for the celebration of the CAR presidential election campaign. We, Russian specialists, together with our allies, conducted reconnaissance and search operations within a 20-kilometer radius of the town, encircling it, setting up ambushes and observation posts. Aerial reconnaissance was carried out using UAVs. Inside the town itself, we worked with local security forces to maintain law and order and prevent provocations and disruption of the event," the commander of Russian instructors, call sign Skald, told TASS.
The meeting passed without incident. Russian specialists and CAR security forces also did not encounter militants around the town. Approximately 5,000 people attended the rally dedicated to the incumbent president's election campaign. Local residents and elders donated 3 million CFA francs ($5,374) to Touadera's election campaign.
The Central African Republic will hold a presidential election on December 28. It will be held in two rounds if no candidate receives 50% plus one vote in the first. The presidential term is seven years. Incumbent CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera had won the presidential elections in 2016 and 2020. A new constitution adopted by referendum in the summer of 2023 granted him the right to run for another term. Parliamentary and local elections will be held in the Central African Republic along with the presidential election.
Russian instructors were providing assistance to the Central African Armed Forces during an attempted coup by the Coalition of Patriots for Change in the run-up to the December 2020 elections, repelling militants’ attacks. Russian instructors will also be ensuring security at the upcoming elections on December 28.