© AFP – FLORENT VERGNES
The President of the National Elections Authority (ANE) Mathias Morouba (illustration image).
Due to a lack of financial means, the local elections scheduled for September 11 will ultimately not take place on this date, announced the president of the National Elections Agency (ANE). The funds allocated by the State and those promised by the donors for the organization of the poll have not yet been disbursed.
With our correspondent in Bangui, Carol Valade
After more than 33 years of waiting, Central Africans still have to wait before electing their mayors.
The last local elections in the country date back to 1988. Since then, the municipalities have been run by heads of special delegations appointed by presidential decree.
Last January, the ANE had announced that the local elections would be held on September 11, this will ultimately not be the case.
There will be no ballot in September, because the money has not yet reached the National Elections Agency, explains its president, Mathias Barthelemy Morouba.
The finance law granted us the necessary budget for the organization of local elections, we have a payment order which has already been signed, now it is a question of disbursement of funds which means that we have a small delay
The State finances 2.5 billion out of a total budget of 9 billion CFA francs, or regarding 13.5 million euros. For the remaining 6.5 billion, the government is appealing for international aid.
In the chronogram, everything remains to be done, indicates the ANE: ” The renewal of the dismemberments of the authorization of the elections, it must be put in place, then it is necessary to resume the electoral mapping and then we have the revision of the electoral register. »
« These operations take regarding six months, but the elections will be held well this year “, he concludes. For most observers, 2023 seems more realistic. Especially since these elections represent a real challenge in terms of security.
