The inhabitants of the Municipality of Ngaba, in the District of Mont-Amba, complain about the delay and also about the machines which are going down all the time. This makes the enlistment operation very cumbersome and tiring since last Saturday June 10.
It is really upsetting to note that the center located within the compound of the school « Les Élites » on Gungu Avenue, Ngaba. The Head of the Office and his staff arrive around 10 o’clock while the start of operations is scheduled for 7:00. This three-hour delay is unfortunately felt for the rest of the day.
In addition to the failure to respect the time, the lack of electricity, the slowness of the registration officers and the closure of the centers earlier than planned make this operation even more difficult.
« I do not know if I am going to enlist again, because what I see here discourages me a lot. We come here very early in the morning and the agents of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), for their part, do not do the same thing. They are always late, they close their offices whenever they want, and I’m tired of it, « said Martine Kayaya, a resident of Ngaba, met in the enlistment center mentioned earlier.
Two weeks later, this center located on Gungu Avenue is still floundering in the same difficulties and no effort is being deployed by the CENI to achieve any improvement.
« We do not understand how the machines that have just been bought can break down. I think that these are already used machines that are sent here to enlist the voters, and that is a lack of respect for our population, » complained a CENI agent working in one of the offices from Ngaba.
The centers are well distributed in the four corners of the commune. But the detrimental thing is that security officers take advantage of this to make money by occasionally letting in people who come late for some money (500, 1000 FC or more), while those who came before continue to hang around in an endless line.
« Enlistment has started, but here we have serious problems. There are plenty of people in centers. You will see centers where there is only one machine. There is disorder, disputes; the law enforcement officers sometimes ask for money, and if you have nothing, they keep you waiting until you are tired, and if you are lucky, you can enlist among the last, otherwise you will take a chance the next day, « said Willy Banza, voter, resident of the Ngaba Municipality.
This situation, which is not at all appreciable, must call on the Congolese Electoral Center so that it can improve its work to avoid leading to biased enrollment.
Joel Ndongala / Trainee