Central African Republic MPs elect Catherine Samba-Panza

Bangui mayor Catherine Samba-Panza, 59, has been elected interim president of the Central African Republic, making her the first woman to hold the post. She beat her rival Desire Kolingba in the second round of voting by the interim parliament.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting on Monday to send troops to CAR, diplomatic sources said.

Violence has continued, with two Muslim men killed and burnt in the capital Bangui on Sunday.

Nearly a million people have been forced from their homes – 20% of the population – by the conflict between Muslims and Christians.

In her victory speech, Ms Samba-Panza urged Christian militias, known as anti-balaka, and Muslim fighters in the ex-Seleka rebel movement to end the bloodshed.

“I call on my children, especially the anti-balaka, to put down their arms and stop all the fighting. The same goes for the ex-Seleka – they should not have fear. I don’t want to hear any more talk of murders and killings,” she said, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Cheers broke out in the National Transitional Council, which serves as an interim parliament, when Ms Samba-Panza’s victory was announced.

“Starting today, I am the president of all Central Africans, without exclusion,” she is quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

Ms Samba-Panza succeeds CAR’s first Muslim leader Michel Djotodia, who resigned on 10 January under pressure from regional leaders and the former colonial power, France, over his failure to curb the conflict.

She is a Christian but the successful businesswoman is seen as politically neutral.

She was accepted by both sides when she was proposed as Bangui’s mayor under the interim administration.

There are currently about 4,000 African troops and 1,600 French troops in CAR to help end the violence.

They will be bolstered by about 500 troops that EU foreign ministers have decided to deploy, AFP reports.

Ms Samba-Panza won 75 votes in the run-off, against 53 for Mr Kolingba, the son of a former president. The election went to a second round after Ms Samba-Panza failed to secure an outright majority in the first round.

Six other candidates were knocked out in the first round. About 129 members of the 135-seat council took part in the secret ballot, AFP reports.

Source:BBC News

UM– USEKE.RW