| Country: | Central Africa |
| Type: | presidential |
| Previous Election: | 1964 Central African presidential election |
| Previous Year: | 1964 |
| Next Election: | 1992 Central African general election |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
| Election Date: | 5 January 1981 |
| Turnout: | 76.66% |
| Image1: | David Dacko 1962-08-08.jpg |
| Nominee1: | David Dacko |
| Party1: | Central African Democratic Union |
| Popular Vote1: | 374,027 |
| Percentage1: | 51.10% |
| Party2: | Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People |
| Popular Vote2: | 283,739 |
| Percentage2: | 38.77% |
| Party3: | Independent Grouping for Reflection |
| Popular Vote3: | 39,661 |
| Percentage3: | 5.42% |
| President | |
| Before Election: | David Dacko |
| Before Party: | Central African Democratic Union |
| After Election: | David Dacko |
| After Party: | Central African Democratic Union |
Presidential elections were held in the Central African Republic on 15 March 1981.[1] They were the first national elections of any sort since 1964, the first elections since the overthrow of longtime ruler Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1979, and the first multiparty presidential elections since independence. Five candidates—incumbent president David Dacko, Ange-Félix Patassé, François Pehoua, Henri Maïdou and Abel Goumba—stood in the election.
The elections were won by Dacko, who had been restored to power two years earlier as part of Operation Barracuda, which overthrew Emperor Bokassa I (Jean-Bédel Bokassa). Dacko tried to pose as the inheritor of Barthélemy Boganda, the national hero who founded the country.