How did rebel activity affect voting in the Central African Republic’s 2020 elections?

During the 2020 elections in the Central African Republic, rebel activity significantly disrupted the democratic process by preventing a sizable portion of the electorate from casting their ballots.1

Following the first round of voting on December 27, 2020, reports of these disruptions, alongside allegations of voting irregularities, led to calls for the election results to be canceled. These calls were ultimately unheeded by the government. Instead, authorities rescheduled the elections for the affected areas, allowing voters in those regions to cast their ballots in March 2021, with subsequent rounds held in May and July of that year.1