CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Parliamentary Chamber: Assemblée nationale

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1998

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Chamber:
  Assemblée nationale


Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

  22 November 1998
13 December 1998


Purpose of elections:

  Elections were held for all seats in the expanded Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.


Background and outcome of elections:

  Following the previous (1993) National Assembly elections, three army revolts and associated ethnic and political bloodshed shook the country. In April 1998, the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force (MINURCA) for security reasons and to ensure the smooth running of general elections.

In July, the Mixed and Independent Electoral Commission (CEMI) first set the polling dates for 20 September and 11 October. Subsequently, after the Assembly had adopted a law on 15 September extending its mandate by three months to the end of 1998, the CEMI reset the dates for 22 November and 13 December, citing technical and financial constraints as reasons for this postponment. Candidatures for the 109 seats (up from the previous 85) were to be submitted from 24 September to 7 October. The first-round campaign was scheduled for 7 to 20 November, and that of the second for 7 to 12 December.

Over 800 candidates representing 29 political parties and including 107 independents were ultimately in the running. The contending parties could be grouped into two broad camps, that of the presidential majority and the opposition. The latter comprised two main alliances - the Union of Forces for Peace and Development (UFAP) and the Union of Forces for Renewal (UFR) - while the former was led by the ruling Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC) of President of the Republic Ange-Félix Patassé. Prominent opposition figures included former President David Dacko, ex-Prime Minister Jean-Paul Ngoupande and Mr. Nestor Kombot-Naguemo.

Polling was monitored by observers from the UN, European Union, the community of French-speaking nations (Francophonie) and independent Africans. Generally peaceful, the first round of voting saw decisions in 38 races, with the MLPC winning 22 of these. For the second round on 13 December, an alliance of 14 opposition parties signed an electoral pact, agreeing to rally behind their leading candidate in each undecided constituency. Final results as proclaimed by the Constitutional Court on 22 December gave the UFAP an eight-seat edge over the MLPC. The newly elected Assembly was installed on 4 January 1999.

STATISTICS
Round no 1 (22 November 1998): Elections results  
Number of registered electors 1,403,952

Round no 1: Distribution of seats  
Political Group Total
Union of Forces for Peace and Development (UFAP) 55
Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC) 47
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) 2
Independents 5

Distribution of seats according to sex:  
Men: 102
Women: 7


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Copyright © 1998 Inter-Parliamentary Union