CENTRAL African Republic (CAR) President Faustin Archange Touadera won a third term in last month’s election, provisional results showed.

The major opposition coalition boycotted the vote after a referendum allowed the removal of presidential term limits.

Mr Touadera, 68, won 76.15 per cent of the votes, according to the provisional results released by the election authority.

He faced challenges from six candidates, but the main opposition coalition did not participate after denouncing what it called an unequal political environment.

Some 2.4 million Central African Republic citizens were registered to vote in a first-of-its-kind election in the country, where citizens voted simultaneously for all tiers of government, including presidential, legislative, regional and municipal seats.

Two opposition candidates have already contested the results, citing instances of alleged malpractice by the National Elections Authority and widespread fraud.

Anicet Georges Dologuele, the runner-up, who received 14.66 per cent of the vote, proclaimed himself the winner of the election on Friday.

The country has been embroiled in conflict since 2013 after mostly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then-president Francois Bozize out of office.

The conflict was de-escalated by a 2019 peace deal between the government and 14 armed groups. Six of the 14 groups later withdrew from the agreement.

The CAR is one of the countries where Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, was first active in Africa.

The group has been responsible for Mr Touadera’s security, but tensions have grown between him and Russia after Moscow demanded that Wagner be replaced with the Russian government-run African Corps.