NDI's election monitoring partner in the Central African Republic (CAR), the National Elections Observatory (ONE) issued its preliminary statement on Nov. 2 after observing the country's voter registration process. The CAR is scheduled to hold overdue presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 23. This was the country's second effort this year to register voters in preparation for the elections.

The full statement is available in French. An English summary follows.

ONE is a network of 80 Central African civil society organizations, formed with NDI's assistance, that trained and deployed 300 observers to monitor the recently concluded voter registration process. ONE observers deployed to 65 of the CAR's 73 sub-prefectures and every part of the capital, Bangui. In its preliminary statement, ONE observed that this crucial step in the election process did not meet Central Africans' expectations. For every positive aspect of the process ONE noted, continued deficiencies were also observed.

The report highlighted:

• In several places, officials allowed voters to register using improper identification;
• Political parties rarely had representatives in registration centers to observe the process;
• In some places, local authorities or officers of rebel groups interfered in the registration process; and
• Some attempts at fraud, moving registration centers, registering minors or creating multiple registrations were found.

Regarding ongoing debates in the CAR on the electoral process, ONE urged that political actors respect their past agreements and work together in the nation's higher interest to resolve their differences over procedures.

ONE also stated that the country must find a way to establish a trustworthy voter registry. If no computerized registry can be established for these elections, then the election commission and international community should establish a uniform voter card different than the two provisional ones currently in use.

ONE asks all those involved in the election process to work loyally to organize honest, credible, inclusive and transparent elections in the CAR.