Central African Republic votes amid tight security after December violence

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By Judicael Yongo

BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic voted at heavily guarded polling stations in a second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday after rebel violence marred December's polls.

Voting started smoothly with just slight delays across the capital Bangui, the electoral body said. Small lines of residents could be seen waiting to vote as large numbers of police and gendarmes stood by.

"So far in Bangui it's going well," National Elections Authority spokesman Théophile Momokoama said by phone.

Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the turmoil surrounding December's vote when President Faustin Archange Touadéra won re-election, but rebels, who the United Nations say are backed by former president François Bozizé, sought to take control amid allegations of voting irregularities.

a man wearing a suit and tie talking on a cell phone: President Faustin-Archange Touadera greets supporters after highest court confirmed his re-election at his party headquarter in Bangui© Reuters/ANTOINE ROLLAND President Faustin-Archange Touadera greets supporters after highest court confirmed his re-election at his party headquarter in Bangui

The insurgents laid siege to the capital Bangui in January, strangling food supplies, forcing more than 200,000 from their homes and raising concerns that the country was slipping back into the kind of sectarian conflict that has killed thousands over the past decade.

Sunday's vote included run-off votes in 49 electoral districts and first round voting in 69 districts where violence stopped the vote from taking place in December.

The government and the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSCA have both expressed confidence Sunday's election will be peaceful due to extra forces on the ground and the capture of rebel strongholds since their initial offensive.

But the situation is far from stable in the gold- and diamond-rich nation of 4.7 million people that has seen repeated bouts of violence since Bozizé's ouster in 2013.

Low turnout in December due to insecurity prompted opposition candidates to dispute the legitimacy of the result.

Retired teacher Bertrand Dena, 50, said he was reassured by the heavy police presence at his polling station in Bangui.

"When you vote, you want peace," he said.

(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Nick Macfie)

中非共和国在12月暴力事件后因安全局势紧张而投票

朱迪卡·永戈（Judicael Yongo）

班吉（路透社）-在叛军暴力破坏了12月的民意调查之后，中非共和国在星期日举行的第二轮议会选举中对守卫严密的投票站进行了投票。

选举机构说，投票在首都班吉（Bangui）进行，只是稍有延迟，因此顺利开始。当大量警察和宪兵待命时，可以看到一小排居民在等待投票。

国家选举事务局发言人莫米科玛（ThéophileMomokoama）在电话中说：“到目前为止，班吉进展顺利。”

当局急于避免在总统福斯坦·阿奇奇·图阿德拉赢得连任时围绕12月份投票的动荡重演，但联合国说，在前总统弗朗索瓦·博齐泽（FrançoisBozizé）的支持下，叛乱分子试图在投票不合规定的情况下取得控制权。

叛乱分子在一月份围攻首都班吉，扼杀了粮食供应，迫使超过20万人从其家中逃离，并引发了人们对该国正在重新陷入那种在过去十年中已造成数千人丧生的宗派冲突的担忧。

周日的投票包括在49个选举区举行的投票表决和在69个地区进行的第一轮投票，那里的暴力阻止了12月的投票。