During the 2025–2026 elections in the Central African Republic, nearly as many women as men registered to vote, indicating that access to the ballot is no longer the main issue. In Mbollo Kpata, the new city council has an equal number of women and men. However, inequalities are most evident during the nomination and election processes, particularly in single ballot. On the other hand, when gender parity rules are applied, they ensure a balance between women and men.
The Mbollo-Kpata municipal council consists of four women and four men, reflecting the gender parity sought by the Central African authorities. Nicole MOUSSA, first deputy mayor, explains: “What motivated me to become first deputy mayor is what is happening in my community. There are many positive things here, but no one manages them. That is why I decided to become mayor—to bring our locality’s challenges to the attention of the government, so that it can come to our aid. Other localities are ahead of Gbollo Kpata.”
Mayor Benjamin Mawada welcomes the gender parity on the Gbollo Kpata City Council and emphasizes the importance of women’s participation in public administration. “In the elections held in the municipality of Gbollo Kpata, four women and four men were elected.”. “This is our way of encouraging women to take an interest in community affairs. You do not find this practice in other prefectures, but here we encourage women to become involved in the management of their community,” he explained.
However, the situation in Mbollo-Kpata differs from that of many other elections held during 2025-2026 electoral cycle, where women remain underrepresented among both candidates and elected representatives.
Gender parity among voters but not reflected in the candidacies.
In the Central African Republic, women account for half of all voters, which shows that they are actively involved starting with voter registration. Yet they are far less represented among the candidates. The challenge, therefore, is no longer mobilization, but access to candidacy.
In the presidential election, no woman is among the seven candidates. In the legislative elections, only 86 women out of 687 candidates (12.5%) are running, while in the regional elections, 22 out of 226 candidates (9.73%) are women. This significant drop indicates that women’s access to electoral competition remains limited, particularly in individual contests.
The situation changes during municipal elections: under the zebra parity list system, women account for 1,947 of the 4,244 candidates, or 45.87%. This result, which is close to gender parity in candidate registration, shows that inclusive electoral rules encourage women’s participation.
The more women stand as candidates, the more women are elected.
The election results follow the same trend as candidacies. In the legislative elections, women won 14 of 139 seats (10.07%), and in the regional elections, 19 of 180 (10.55%). In the municipal elections, 806 women were elected out of 1,778 city council members, representing 45.33%.
These figures show that the more women participate, the more successful they are. The difference between the diverse types of elections is clear: their share remains around 10% in legislative and regional elections but exceeds 45% in municipal elections.
The data from the 2025-2026 electoral cycle show that the type of electoral system has a direct impact on women’s participation and representation.
The main challenge is no longer voter registration, but access to candidacy.
The gap is significant: women account for 48% of registered voters, but only 12.5% of candidates in legislative elections and 9.73% in regional elections. However, under gender parity rules, they account for 45.87% of candidates and 45.33% of municipal seats.
The 2025–2026 election cycle shows that women have secured the right to vote in the Central African Republic. The challenge remains access to candidacies and elected office, especially in single-seat races without gender parity rules.
In Mbollo-Kpata, the presence of four women and four men on the city council demonstrates the positive impact of gender parity rules. This example shows that balanced representation is achievable when the right conditions are in place.
Despite this progress, the new team in Mbollo Kpata—one of the three municipalities in the Bamingui-Bangoran prefecture—faces major challenges. The locality has 10,000 populations, who lack access to safe drinking water and income-generating activities.
Syntyche Mantar Tompté
