MINUSCA’s Electoral Mandate
MINUSCA’s latest electoral mandate is defined by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2800 (2025), adopted on 13 November 2025. As in previous mandates, it aims to support the Government of the Central African Republic in preparing and organizing the 2025–2026 local (municipal and regional), presidential, and legislative elections so that they are free, fair, transparent, credible, peaceful, and held within the constitutional timeframe.
The Mission carries out this mandate by:
- Providing good offices, including facilitating dialogue among all political stakeholders while promoting the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women, youth, returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and refugees, with the objective of encouraging civil society participation and easing tensions throughout the electoral period.
- Delivering operational, logistical, technical, and security support, particularly to facilitate access to remote and hard-to-reach areas.
- Coordinating international electoral assistance, particularly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, and technical and financial partners, through clearly defined roles and responsibilities, with the support of the Resident Coordinator.
This assistance is provided in full respect of the principle of national sovereignty: the primary responsibility for organizing and conducting elections rests with the Central African State. MINUSCA's role is to support, facilitate, and coordinate.
Implementation of the electoral mandate mobilizes all civilian, military, and police components of MINUSCA under the overall leadership of the Mission's management, in close coordination with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and international partners.
Resolution 2800 (2025) places particular emphasis on the inclusiveness of the electoral process, especially the participation of women as both voters and candidates. It also highlights the participation of youth, internally displaced persons, returnees, and first-time voters, ensuring they can vote safely and have unrestricted access to polling stations. These priorities are integrated across all aspects of the Mission's electoral support.
The mandate also assigns MINUSCA an enhanced role in strategic communications to improve public understanding of the electoral process, promote transparency, and strengthen trust between citizens and public institutions.
The Electoral Assistance Division (EAD), established in 2019, serves as the Mission's primary mechanism for implementing the electoral mandate. Reporting to the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General/Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC), the Division provides structured support to the National Elections Authority (ANE), its sub-prefectural and municipal branches across the country's 20 prefectures, and other relevant national institutions.
The EAD operates through a headquarters office and 17 regional electoral offices, covering all 20 prefectures and providing close support to ANE's decentralized structures nationwide. It works in close coordination with other Mission components involved in electoral assistance, as well as with United Nations agencies, funds, and programmes, particularly UNDP.
Key Achievements (2023–2025)
Supporting the Organization of the Four Simultaneous Elections Held on 28 December 2025
In close coordination with UNDP and the United Nations Country Team, MINUSCA provided comprehensive support to national authorities that proved critical for the preparation and successful conduct of the country's first-ever simultaneous presidential, legislative, regional, and municipal elections.
Beyond the presidential and legislative elections, the regional and municipal elections were the first local elections held since 1988. They marked an important milestone in the renewal of national and local institutions.
Made possible through the commitment of the Government and the support of international partners, including the United Nations, these elections contributed to strengthening local governance as part of the country's decentralization process—a key component of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (APPR-CAR).
Providing Logistical Support for Electoral Operations
MINUSCA's logistical support for deploying and retrieving electoral materials, transporting ANE personnel and election officials, and delivering vote tally sheets was widely recognized by the Government, political stakeholders, the media, United Nations Member States, and the public as one of the Mission's most significant contributions to the electoral process.
This support enabled elections to be conducted throughout the country, including in hard-to-reach areas, while reinforcing the transparency and credibility of the process.
Specifically, MINUSCA transported approximately 105 tonnes of electoral materials during voter registration. During the 28 December 2025 elections, the Mission also transported 232 tonnes of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials from Bangui to prefectural capitals and onward to ANE's local offices.
Including support provided for the 26 April 2026 elections (the second round of the legislative elections and by-elections), the Mission transported approximately 600 tonnes of electoral materials.
This represented an exceptional logistical contribution that only MINUSCA, through its multidimensional electoral support mandate, was able to provide.
Contributing to the Security of the Electoral Process Nationwide
MINUSCA contributed to the development and implementation of the Integrated Election Security Plan (PISE) through exemplary cooperation between the Government, the Central African Defence and Security Forces, the National Elections Authority (ANE), and the Mission's military and police components.
This cooperation ensured the secure conduct of ANE operations, including voter registration, the distribution of electoral materials, and the deployment of election personnel. It also helped create a secure environment for both voters and candidates.
The successful opening and secure operation of more than 99% of the country's 6,700 polling stations during the December 2025 elections, and 100% of polling stations during the April 2026 elections, demonstrated the effectiveness of the Integrated Election Security Plan.
MINUSCA made a substantial contribution by supporting the deployment of national defence and security forces while strengthening their operational capacity and mobility.
Supporting the Revision of the Electoral Register
In preparation for the 2025–2026 elections, MINUSCA provided multidimensional support—financial, technical, logistical, and security-related—for the revision of the electoral register.
In addition to financing the procurement of voter registration forms, the Mission provided significant technical assistance to ANE in training election officials, planning operations, and deploying personnel and equipment.
Logistically, MINUSCA facilitated the transport of electoral materials, ANE staff, and 585 voter registration officers to remote and hard-to-access areas using its air and ground assets, ensuring broad nationwide coverage.
Strengthening National Electoral Management Capacity
Through its Electoral Assistance Division, MINUSCA provides continuous technical and institutional support to the National Elections Authority (ANE).
This assistance includes strategic planning, the development of operational concepts, procedures and practical tools in the areas of training, logistics, public communication, civic outreach, and electoral data management.
Through this sustained support, the Mission has strengthened national capacities to prepare for, manage, and conduct electoral operations while reinforcing the long-term institutional capacity of the Central African Republic's electoral management bodies.