Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadéra has been re-elected in the first round of the presidential vote on December 27 by securing more than 53% of votes in the first round, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission on Monday.

He won an "absolute majority" with 53.92% of votes, Mathias Morouba, president of the National Election Authority (ANE) told a news conference in the capital, Bangui.

However, the results must be officially validated by the Constitutional Court if there are possible appeals.