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Congo’s nationwide election fee did not account for $400 million of funds it acquired from the state, and awarded opaque procurement contracts forward of the disputed December common election, an EU-funded civil society report mentioned Monday.
The report mentioned the electoral fee, often called CENI, was additionally blighted by price range overruns, a difficulty that has plagued President Felix Tshisekedi’s administration.
It urged Congo’s justice division to open investigations into the administration of the funds allotted to CENI for the electoral course of.
Technical mishaps, lacking supplies and a last-minute extension of voting have stoked disputes over the December ballot, main important opposition candidates to allege fraud and name for a re-run.
The report, based mostly on research by the Centre for Analysis on Public Finance and Native Growth (CREFDL) with funding from the European Union, mentioned the election fee acquired almost $1.1 billion in public funding between 2021 and 2023.
However solely $711 million had been permitted within the nationwide budgets, leaving about $400 million unaccounted for.
The electoral fee didn’t reply to a Reuters request for remark. A spokesman for the federal government of the Democratic Republic of Congo didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the report.
“The chain of use of those funds has remained opaque, and this will likely have an effect on the outcomes (of the election),” Valery Madianga, a public finance professional and one of many lead researchers of the report, instructed Reuters.
“Public funds have been very badly used, or maybe they’ve gone into obscure pockets,” Madianga mentioned.
The report additionally mentioned that 45 of the 54 public contracts the fee signed between 2021 and 2023 have been awarded by mutual settlement, with solely 9 awarded by tenders.
“This frequent recourse undermines the precept of transparency, equity and financial system of provide,” the researchers mentioned within the report.
It added that round 14 million extra ballots and electoral playing cards had been purchased than essential, and greater than 80% of the warehouses the fee rented have been privately owned, elevating issues in regards to the safety of delicate electoral supplies.
The electoral fee has defended the ballot’s credibility, though it invalidated votes forged for 82 of the 101,000 legislative candidates over alleged fraud and different points on Jan. 6.
Congo’s Constitutional Court docket on Jan. 9 confirmed Tshisekedi’s re-election as president, following the disputed ballot, whereas his ruling UDPS celebration is main within the legislative race, in keeping with provisional outcomes introduced early Sunday.
By Reuters
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