UN electoral mission ends assessment visit

A consultant with a UN mission assessing electoral needs in the Central African Republic (CAR) has said that lack of money is the country's "main difficulty" in holding planned municipal and local polls. The consultant, Akinyemi Adegbola, said that had not made firm pledges of aid because they had no government plans on which to base their recommendations for aid; there was no official exchange of documents with a detailed budget, a detailed time frame, and firm election dates. President Ange-Felix Patasse had only promised elections by the end of the year, he said. Adegbola also said crime and political violence were other factors hindering the holding of elections. He was speaking in the CAR capital, Bangui, on 17 August, a day before the end of the 15-day mission of the UN Electoral Assistance Division. Officials of the country's electoral commission are due to meet donors on Wednesday to discuss funds for the forthcoming polls. The commission's vice-president, Roger Kongbo, told IRIN on 18 August that donors had already agreed, in principle, to fund the elections.