Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 (first round) and May 8, 2005 (second round), marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup. Bozizé ran in the election in an attempt to win a five-year term after two years as transitional leader, and ten other candidates also ran. Former president Ange-Félix Patassé, who was overthrown by Bozizé, was excluded from running. In the concurrent parliamentary elections, the 105 seats in the new parliament were contested. General info: Large flag of Central African Republic Dimensions: 503x302 pixels Source: Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook License: Originally public domain, modifications under GFDL Most of the flags have had their colours improved and many have been resized to the proper ratios. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born October 14, 1946) is the current President of the Central African Republic. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → A timeline of events in the news for March, 2003. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Patassé with Bozizé in the background Ange-Félix Patassé (born January 25, 1937) was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé. Patassé was born in Paoua. ...

The elections, the country's first since a victory by Patassé in the September 1999 presidential election, followed a new constitution that took effect in late December 2004, having been approved by the people in a referendum. A run-off election between Bozizé, who won the most votes in the first round according to official results, and Martin Ziguélé, a former prime minister under Patassé, was held, and Bozizé won this second round with 64.6 percent of the vote. He was inaugurated on June 11. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16... Martin Ziguélé (born February 12, 1957) was a Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ...

Date of the election

A specific date for the elections, previously planned for December 2004 or January 2005, was announced on August 28, 2004: January 30, 2005, with a run-off date of February 27.¹ The elections were, however, subsequently delayed to February 13 by a decree of president Bozizé in mid-December 2004. [1] In late January 2005, they were delayed further by one month to March 13.² They were held on this date, and the second round of the elections, initially scheduled for May 1, took place on May 8. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in January • 29 Ephraim Kishon • 25 Philip Johnson • 23 Johnny Carson • 22 Parveen Babi • 20 Jan Nowak-Jeziorański • 17 Virginia Mayo • 17 Zhao Ziyang • 15 Ruth Warrick • 14 Rudolph Moshammer Recent deaths Ongoing events • Tsunami relief... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in January • 29 Ephraim Kishon • 25 Philip Johnson • 23 Johnny Carson • 22 Parveen Babi • 20 Jan Nowak-Jeziorański • 17 Virginia Mayo • 17 Zhao Ziyang • 15 Ruth Warrick • 14 Rudolph Moshammer Recent deaths Ongoing events • Tsunami relief... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ...

Candidates

François Bozizé

After taking power with the seizure of the capital, Bangui, on March 15, 2003, Bozizé said that his rule would mark a transitional period prior to future elections, and he initially indicated that he would not run for president in those elections. In 2004, however, speculation increased that he intended to run, and many of his supporters called on him to stand in the election. Eventually, following a referendum on a new constitution on December 5, 2004, Bozizé announced his candidacy in the presidential election as an independent candidate on December 11, 2004, while speaking to supporters. He cited what he considered the will of the people in his decision: Image File history File links http://www. ... Image File history File links http://www. ... Bangui, estimated population 560,000 ( 1994), is the capital of the Central African Republic. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After thinking thoroughly, and being deeply convinced and keeping in mind the nation's interest, I grasped the deep sense of my people's calls. As a citizen, I'll take my responsibility.

I'll contest the election to achieve the task of rebuilding the country, which is dear to me and according to your wish.³

Ten other candidates also contested the presidential election, including one former president and three former prime ministers. André Kolingba, who ruled the Central African Republic from 1981 until his defeat by Ange-Félix Patassé in the 1993 election, was the candidate of the Central African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement démocratique centrafricain). He came in second in the September 1999 election, although Patassé defeated him by a wide margin. The elderly Abel Goumba also ran as the candidate of the Patriotic Front for Progress (Front patriotique pour le progrès); a long-time politician, he served as prime minister in the late 1950s and again from March to December 2003, following Bozizé's seizure of power, subsequently becoming vice-president under Bozizé until being dismissed shortly after the election. Additionally, Martin Ziguélé, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2003 (Patassé's last prime minister prior to his ouster), contested the election, along with Jean-Paul Ngoupandé of the National Unity Party (Parti de l'unité nationale), who was prime minister from 1996 to 1997. André Diuedonne Kolingba (born August 12, 1935) was president of the Central African Republic from 1981 to 1993. ... Abel Goumba (born 1927) is the Vice President of the Central African Republic under François Bozizé. He was Prime Minister in the 1950s, and was appointed prime minister again in 2003 after a coup ousted the previous government. ... Jean-Paul Ngoupandé (born 1948) is a former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ...

The other candidates were former defense minister Jean-Jacques Démafouth, the lawyer Henri Pouzère, Charles Massi of the Democratic Forum for Modernity (Forum démocratique pour la modernité), Olivier Gabirault of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (l'Alliance pour la démocratie et le progrès), Auguste Boukanga of the Union for Renewal and Development (l'Union pour la Renaissance et le développement) and Pasteur Josué Binoua.

Events and controversy

In late March 2004, the National Transitional Council voted by a large majority in favor of a bill setting up a body to oversee the planned elections, the Commission électorale mixte indépendante (CEMI), which was initially planned to have 45 to 60 members. [2] This was re-examined by National Transitional Council at the government's request in April 2004, and on April 30, Bozizé issued the decree promulgating it. On May 24, 2004, Bozizé approved 30 members of CEMI who had been chosen by three groups: political parties, professional groups, and the national administration. Each of these three groups chose 10 of the members, although the country's 44 parties took some time to reach a compromise on who should be their 10 members.⁴ The 31st and last member of CEMI, its president, was not named at this time, however. The 30 members were sworn in on June 4. Jean Willybiro-Sako was subsequently chosen as president of the commission, selected out of four candidates, two of whom were nominated by the prime minister and two by the president of the National Transitional Council. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths • 08 Abu Abbas • 20 Queen Juliana • 28 Peter Ustinov • 30 Alistair Cooke More March 2004 deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers Haiti Rebellion Israeli-Palestinian conflict Occupation of Iraq Same-sex marriage in... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths in April • 18 Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara • 19 Norris McWhirter • 22 Pat Tillman • 24 Estée Lauder Other recent deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers Haiti Rebellion Reconstruction of Iraq – Occupation & Resistance Israeli... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ...

Earlier in the year, Alpha Oumar Konaré, the chairman of the commission of the African Union and former president of Mali, reportedly urged Bozizé not to stand for election. Bozizé gave an interview to Radio France Internationale on May 17 in which he refused to say whether or not he would run, but he confirmed that Konaré had spoken to him about it, while criticizing Konaré for what he called interference in the country's affairs, and wondering whether he had consulted the opinions of the Central African people before getting involved. He stressed that the matter would depend on the will of the people. Some of his supporters campaigned prominently for him to stand. Thousands walked in Bangui on June 19 to support his candidacy; Bozizé thanked them and asked for time to reflect. [3] Alpha Oumar Konaré with George W. Bush Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 1946) was the president of Mali for two five-year terms, from 1992 to 2002 and has been Chairman of the Commission of the African Union since 2003. ... ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ...

An electoral census was conducted from October 16 to October 29, 2004; it was initially planned to end on October 24 but was extended for several days. October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ...

In November 2004, former president Ange-Félix Patassé, who presently lives in exile in Togo following his 2003 ouster by Bozizé, was nominated as the presidential candidate of his party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain, MLPC).⁵ In December, Abel Goumba and Henri Pouzère submitted applications to run.⁶ 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: November 2004 in sports November 2004 in science Deaths in November • 30 Pierre Berton • 29 John Drew Barrymore • 26 Bill Alley • 24 Arthur Hailey • 23 Rafael Eitan • 18 Bobby Frank Cherry • 16 John Morgan • 13...

On December 30, the transitional constitutional court decided that all but five candidates—Bozizé, André Kolingba, Abel Goumba, Henri Pouzère, and former minister Auguste Boukanga—would be excluded from running for various reasons. Patassé was among the seven who were barred, which the court said was due to problems with his birth certificate, as well as with his land title.⁷ In rejecting the candidacy of Jean-Jacques Démafouth, it said that there was a conflict between the date of birth given on his birth certificate (October 3, 1950) and that given in his declaration of candidacy and criminal record (October 3, 1959). [4] The other candidates who were rejected were Martin Ziguélé, Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Charles Massi, Olivier Gabirault, and Pasteur Josué Binoua.⁷ December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... In most forms of government, a birth certificate is an official legal document usually describing Name at Birth Date of Birth Sex (Gender) Place of Birth (City, Region, Country) Birth Registration Number Legal Parent(s) Time of Birth (if known) The certificate is issued shortly after a persons birth...

Prior to the court's decision, three of the 15 initial candidates had already withdrawn from the race, leaving only 12 candidacies to judge. Fidèle Gouandjika, who took less than 1% of the vote in the 1999 presidential election, [5] withdrew in favor of Bozizé about a week before the decision. [6] Joseph Bendounga, a former mayor of Bangui and an opponent of Bozizé's transitional government, also withdrew;⁷ he had been named as a candidate by his party, the Democratic Movement for Renewal and Development in Central Africa, in May 2004.⁸ Enoch Dérant-Lakoué, who was prime minister for several months in 1993 and took a little more than 1% in the 1999 election, [7] withdrew as well.⁷ 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths in May • 28 Gerald Anthony • 27 Umberto Agnelli • 22 Richard Biggs • 20 Len Murray • 17 Tony Randall • 17 Ezzedine Salim • 9 Alan King • 9 Akhmad Kadyrov • 8(?) Nick Berg • 7 Waldemar Milewicz Other recent deaths Ongoing...

The court's decision caused controversy and was followed by demands for the annulment of the decision and the dissolution of the court. Although the chairman of the court, Marcel Malonga, reaffirmed the decision on state radio on January 3, 2005, Bozizé made a conciliatory gesture on January 4 by announcing that three of the disqualified candidates would be permitted to run: Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Martin Ziguélé, and Charles Massi. In this decision, he invoked presidential powers available to him according to the new constitution, citing Article 22.⁹ At the same time, however, he maintained the exclusion of the remaining four candidates, and in a reference to Patassé, who is accused of stealing 70 billion CFA francs from the national treasury, he said that he thought candidates who were "the subject of judicial proceedings, for violent and economic crimes, should be permanently rejected".¹⁰ This did not resolve the dispute, however, and the three he approved refused to accept his validation of their candidacies, accusing Bozizé of trying to divide the opposition. All seven of the initially barred candidates continued to demand the dissolution of the court and also put forward a request for the invalidation of Bozizé's own candidacy.¹⁰ For his part, Bozizé sharply criticized the seven in a speech in the city of Mobaye on January 15, which was carried on state radio, accusing them of "nothing more or less than sorcery" and "madness, bad faith, coupled with a dose of misinformation". He further said that, in contrast to them, his policy "does not aim at destroying the country, it is not based on violence, lies, betrayal, manipulation or strikes".¹¹ January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The countries using the CFA franc The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, or just franc in everyday conversation if no ambiguity is possible) is a currency used in 12 formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (former Spanish... Mobaye is the capital of Basse-Kotto, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Amidst this tension and controversy, the seven excluded candidates, along with the originally accepted candidates Kolingba and Goumba, called for the mediation of Gabonese president Omar Bongo.¹² On January 22, the matter was effectively resolved through the signing by Bozizé and his rivals of an agreement in Libreville, which allowed all the candidates except Patassé to participate and brought the total number of candidates to 11.² According to the agreement, Patassé would remain barred because he was the subject of judicial proceedings.¹² The date of the election was also delayed to March 13, and it was agreed that the constitutional court would not be dissolved, but that its power regarding the election would be transferred to the independent election committee.¹³ Subsequently, although Patassé rejected the agreement—saying that he had not authorized Luc Apollinaire Dondon, the first vice-president of the MPLC, to sign it—the MLPC announced that it would support the candidacy of Ziguélé,¹³ who had previously been running as an independent. [8] Mediation is a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party, the mediator, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest; lato sensu is any activity in which an agreement on any matter is researched... Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (formerly Albert-Bernard Bongo) (born December 30, 1935) has been the President of Gabon since 1967. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Libreville, estimated population 362,400 (1993), is the capital of Gabon. ...

An official list of candidates, including 11 of them and excluding only Patassé, was published by the election commission on January 26, following the agreement.¹⁴ January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Elections were also held to fill the 105 seats of the national assembly, whose members will serve five-year terms. Initially, 261 of 970 candidates were barred from running by the electoral commission on January 10, but on January 21 a court ruling permitted 219 of the 261 to run, bringing the number of candidates to 928. Bozizé's wife Monique was among the 709 candidates who were initially approved on January 10. [9] January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The 2005 election marked the first time that the country's voters used a single ballot in each of the two polls, presidential and parliamentary, and an awareness campaign about this was launched on February 2. Previously, a multiple ballot system had been used in elections. The information campaign continued until February 26. [10] Subsequently, the campaign for the elections began on the morning of February 26 and lasted until midnight on March 11. [11] February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 11 March is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ...

First round aftermath

Partial results (28.9 percent of polling stations, or 1,198 out of 4,145 stations) from the election on March 18 put Bozizé in the lead with about 55 percent of the votes, according to the election commission: 184,734 out of 334,732 votes counted were for Bozizé. This was over 140,000 votes more than his nearest rivals, Ziguélé and Kolingba, who took 12.86 percent (43,058 votes) and 12.65 percent (42,374 votes) of the vote respectively.¹⁵ March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ...

The opposition Union of Active Forces of the Nation (l'Union des forces vives de la Nation, UFVN), a grouping of Bozizé's rivals, has denounced the elections on the grounds of alleged fraud and irregularities, and it has called for the elections to be declared null. On the other hand, election observers have endorsed the vote as free and fair.¹⁶

Martin Ziguélé

On March 31, official results were announced: Bozizé came in first with just under 43 percent of the votes, while Ziguélé came in second with 23.5 percent. Turnout among voters was said to have been 68.27 percent. [12] Since Bozizé did not win a majority, a second-round presidential vote was required between him and Ziguélé. Image File history File links http://www. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ...

In the parliamentary elections, contested by a total of 909 candidates, 17 of the 105 seats were won outright in the first round; the remainder will be decided by the results of the second round. Convergence Kwa Na Kwa, the coalition supporting Bozizé, did not win any seats in the first round. Among those who did win seats were Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, also a presidential candidate, and Mireille Kolingba, the wife of presidential candidate André Kolingba. Three of the presidential candidates who were defeated in the first round, Abel Goumba, Charles Massi, and Henri Pouzère, ran in the parliamentary second round. [13]

Second round

The run-off between Bozizé and Ziguélé, initially scheduled to take place on May 1, was postponed to May 8. The reason for the postponement was to avoid interference with the marking of Labour Day on May 1. Campaigning took place from April 23 to May 6.¹⁷ May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... Labour Day (CmE) or Labor Day (AmE) is an annual holiday that resulted from efforts of the labour union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ...

Theoretically, as all the opposition candidates (except Auguste Boukanga) are part of the UFVN, there was, based on the mathematical results of the first round, a majority against Bozizé. However, support for Ziguélé in the UFVN was not unconditional. Josué Binoua refused to endorse either candidate, [14] while Ngoupandé and Massi backed Bozizé,¹⁸ as well as Goumba. Kolingba, the third place finisher, did not endorse either candidate.

Early results from CEMI on May 12 showed Bozizé with a strong lead. In Bangui, he was said to have received 103,446 votes, while Ziguélé took 42,959. He also was credited with 79.5 percent of the vote in Ombella-M'Poko province (where his wife Monique also won the seat she was contesting, constituency Bimbo 2) and 93.7 percent in Lobaye province.¹⁹ Subsequently, partial results from CEMI on May 16 showed Bozizé with slightly more than 60 percent of the total vote, according to results from 1,698 of the country's 4,161 polling stations. The head of CEMI, Jean Willybiro Sako, said that CEMI had 15 days from the election to make the final results public, and that the inauguration of the winner would follow 45 days after the results are proclaimed. [15] (CEMI's mandate will also come to an end at that time.) May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... Ombella-MPoko is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. ... Lobaye is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ...

In mid-May, there were riots in Bangui after CEMI said that the speaker of the transitional parliament (which is being replaced by the current parliamentary elections), Nicolas Tiangaye, had been narrowly defeated in his constituency by a candidate of the pro-Bozizé Kwa Na Kwa party. Tiangaye called for calm among his supporters "to avoid a bloodbath."²⁰

On May 24, Jean Willybiro Sako announced that Bozizé had won the presidential election with 64.6 percent of the vote. [16] Turnout in the second round was 64.63 percent, slightly down from the first round. Ziguélé tried to have Bozizé's victory invalidated, claiming that soldiers had forced or intimidated people into voting for Bozizé, but this was rejected by the constitutional court. [17] May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ...

In the legislative elections, Kwa Na Kwa won the most seats in the new parliament, taking 42 out of 105. 34 independent candidates were elected. Ziguélé and Patassé's party, the MLPC, received only 11 seats, while Kolingba's party, the RDC, took eight. The Social Democratic Party took four seats, Goumba's party, the FPP, took two seats, the Alliance for Democracy took two seats, and the Londo association took one. Goumba and Henri Pouzère lost the races for the seats they were contesting. [18] The vote for one seat, in the south, was cancelled due to fraud, and a new vote will have to be held there.

The new parliament met for the first time on June 3. Subsequently it elected Célestin Gaombalet, the prime minister, as its speaker. He defeated Luc-Apollinaire Dondon Konamabaye of the MLPC. [19] Bozizé was sworn in on June 11 by the head of the constitutional court, Marcel Malonga. Gaombalet resigned as prime minister after Bozizé's inauguration to take up his new post, and Elie Doté was appointed to replace him. [20] June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... Célestin Le Roi Gaombalet (born 1941?) was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2005, and is currently the speaker of parliament. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... Élie Doté (born 1947?) is the current Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ...

Official results

Presidential Election

François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born October 14, 1946) is the current President of the Central African Republic. ... Martin Ziguélé (born February 12, 1957) was a Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ... André Diuedonne Kolingba (born August 12, 1935) was president of the Central African Republic from 1981 to 1993. ... Jean-Paul Ngoupandé (born 1948) is a former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ... Abel Goumba (born 1927) is the Vice President of the Central African Republic under François Bozizé. He was Prime Minister in the 1950s, and was appointed prime minister again in 2003 after a coup ousted the previous government. ...

Legislative Election

References

1. Agence France-Presse (AFP), "Central African Republic sets dates in 2005 for elections", August 28, 2004.
2. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), "Election postponed, but most banned candidates can now run", January 25, 2005.
3. IRIN, "Bozize to contest presidency as independent candidate", December 13, 2004.
4. AFP, "Electoral commission appointed in Central African Republic", May 25, 2004.
5. AFP, "Patasse to run as party's candidate in Central African Republic vote", November 22, 2004.
6. AFP, "Veteran vice president to contest Central African election", December 16, 2004.
7. "La cour const. écarte une majorité d'adversaires de Bozizé", December 30, 2004.
8. AFP, "Opposition presidential candidate chosen in Central Africa", May 20, 2004.
9. IRIN, "Bozize repeals court ban on some presidential candidates", January 5, 2005.
10. AFP, "Central African candidates reject president's idea and court ruling", January 5, 2005.
11. AFP, "CAR president hits out at barred rivals", January 15, 2005.
12. AFP, "Central African president reaches election deal with rivals", January 22, 2005.
13. Xinhua, "Negotiations of Central African Republic crisis end in Gabon", January 23, 2005.
14. AFP, "Central African presidential candidate officially cleared to run", January 27, 2005.
15. AFP, "Bozize leads in C.African polls", March 18, 2005.
16. AFP, "Central African opposition wants March 13 vote declared null", March 22, 2005.
17. IRIN, "Run-off polls set for 8 May", April 14, 2005.
18. Panafrican News Agency, "Two losing Central African candidates back Bozize", April 21, 2005.
19. AFP, "Bozize takes Central Africa's capital on early poll results", May 12, 2005.
20. AFP, "Opposition supporters riot after partial Central African vote result", May 15, 2005.