Some technical hitches are said to be slowing down the operation.

All attention in the Central African Republic is focused on the National Elections Authority (ANE) that is currently receiving, verifying and tallying field results of the presidential and legislative elections of December 30, 2015.

The French newspaper, Liberation reports that the vote counting operation is guarded by peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and  forces of law and order of the Central African Republic. Results from polling stations nationwide are being forwarded to the ANE whose Bangui Centre for processing data has become a beehive of the post elections activities. This phase of the electoral process, reports say, is suffering from insufficient infrastructure, logistics problems and staff who have not been adequately trained.

Another French newspaper, Le Monde, talks of some disorder and confusion as some of the main characteristics of the vote counting operation. It cites Cécile Bozanga, an official of the National Elections Authority who decried the arrival of ballot papers from Morocco conveyed by taxi to the centre. Reports also talk of bitter exchanges between representatives of candidates and ANE officials as the representatives of the candidates are raising fears of fraud.

Other reports say some files from polling stations are incomplete and in some case, information is badly written. Faced with these cases of irregularities, the Chairperson of ANE, Marie- Madeleine Nkouet is cited as declaring that the validation of the results is the prerogative of ANE. She said the institution will not reject any results.  All complaints, she said,  should be filed at the Constitutional Court  that has the competence to rule on them.

In the partial results so far published, former Prime Minister Fausting Touadera is leading with more than 23 per cent of the votes counted. His nearest rival is Anicet Georges Dologuele, another former prime minister who has around 13 per cent. Thirty candidates went into the race for the presidency. Elections also took place for the 149-seat National Assembly.