The Central African Republic's Constitutional Court on Monday confirmed President Faustin Archange Touadera's victory in elections last month marked by poor turnout and threats from armed groups.

Touadera "is proclaimed to be re-elected president in the first round of the December 27 2020 elections," Chief Judge Daniele Darlan said, validating results that gave him 53.16 percent of the vote.

The court put the turnout at just 35.25 percent, a figure affected by the inability of many voters to cast their ballots.

Touadera, 63, first took the helm in 2016 after a civil war that left thousands of dead and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Two-thirds of the impoverished country is in the hands of armed groups, and Touadera relies on help from UN peacekeeping forces and military support from Russia and Rwanda.

In the runup to the election, a coalition of militias tried to advance on the capital Bangui -- an operation that Touadera said was an attempted coup fomented by his predecessor, Francois Bozize.

The court rejected a suit filed by 13 of the 16 other candidates, who argued that the results were the outcome of "massive fraud" and insecurity.

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