Association for Free Research and International Cooperation (AFRIC): Voting Machines Will be Used for the First Time on the African Continent in the Presidential Elections in the DRC

KINSHASA, DR Congo, December 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

On Sunday, December 23, 40 million people, about half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's population, are expected to elect a new leader.  At least 20 candidates will compete for the presidential seat. Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the former Interior Minister, is the candidate of the ruling People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. Opposition leaders nominated Martin Fayulu as their candidate.

For the first time, voting machines will be used in the upcoming presidential elections in Africa. These machines, ordered by the government of the DRC, are manufactured by South Korean firm Miru Systems Co., which were previously bought for the Argentine elections in 2017. The legitimacy of the elections will also be observed by several thousand international observers. The Association for Free Research and International Cooperation, in turn, will closely monitor the use of voting machines to ensure more transparent results in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is assumed that the use of machines is to avoid human intervention impact on the election results, as the program processes the votes and quickly puts them in a common database of voters. This significantly reduces the time for counting votes and allows for significant savings in the cost of transportation of ballots and voter lists. The money saved with the help of machines can be spent on the development of social needs.

The other day, a spokesman for the Democratic Republic of the Congo election Commission said the voting machines are meant to reduce both election costs and the waiting period for results. "It's not a machine to cheat," Jean-Pierre Kalamba said, adding that the goal is to get the machines into "every nook and cranny" of the country, - according to News 24 . The electoral commission plans to use more than 100,000 of them.

Association for Free Research and International Cooperation (AFRIC) is a community of independent researchers, experts and activists. The main goals are creating a platform for elaboration and dissemination of objective analytical information, first-hand opinions; establishing direct communication and cooperation. https://afric.online/