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| - The Central African Republic's top court on Monday scrapped legislative elections in 13 constituencies, citing irregularities there in the country's much-troubled December ballot. Polling day, on December 27, was for the first round of voting for the National Assembly as well as the presidency, which according to official figures was won outright by the incumbent, Faustin Archange Touadera. In a ruling read to the press by its chief judge, Daniele Darlan, the Constitutional Court ordered a new vote "in 13 constituencies where the elections have been cancelled." Irregularities included "manipulation of ballot boxes... (and) acts of violence... which prevented the sincerity of the vote," the court said. The outcome in 58 other constituencies in the 140-seat legislature remains unclear, as voting could not take place there because of insecurity. One of the world's poorest countries, the CAR has been locked in violence since 2013, when its then president, Francois Bozize, was overthrown. The resulting war divided the country largely along religious and ethnic lines, causing thousands of deaths and prompting around a quarter of the population to flee their homes. Touadera's government, despite being supported by UN, Russian and Rwandan forces, only controls around a third of the territory. The remaining two-thirds is in the hands of armed groups, which often fight over the country's rich mineral wealth. The court confirmed first-round victories in 22 other constituencies, five of which were won by Touadera's party. Touadera last month was proclaimed victor of the presidential elections with 53.16 percent of the vote. But the country's political opposition has dismissed his win as a sham -- turnout was just 35.25 percent of the electorate. Hundreds of thousands of voters were unable to cast their ballot, especially in areas controlled by militia groups. A date for the second round of voting has yet to be set, but Darlan noted that under the constitution, "the National Assembly must be installed by May 2 at the latest." The National Election Authority (ANE) on Tuesday is scheduled to announce details on first-round voting in troubled constituencies. Its rapporteur, Theophile Momokoama,,told AFP that a first and second round "will be held... in every constituency" where there was either no voting in the first round or the result had been overturned. Iclt-amt/gir/ri/tgb
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