Bangui - Central African Republic (CAR) turned out en masse to vote in the presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, said the head of the UN mission, although rebels opened fire in some areas to try to scare voters.
Rebel groups hostile to President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who is looking for a second term, carried out attacks and threatened to march to the capital Bangui and disrupt the election after the constitutional court this month rejected several candidates, including former President François Bozize.
Touadera is considered the favorite among 17 candidates. The vote count started on Sunday and the full results are expected by the end of the week.
The election will go to the second round if no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes.
After a slow start and despite sporadic gunfights in some cities, the head of the UN mission in the country said in a statement that the country would see a large turnout of voters.
