FECOFA: row over postponed elections

The days go by and the electoral process remains stalled at the Congolese Football Association. Everything has ground to a halt at the national leagues, even though this is the last stage before reaching the FECOFA Executive Committee.

Despite being postponed twice, the elections at the National Youth Football League (LINAFJ), the National Women's Football League (LINAFF) and the National Football League (LINAFOOT), which were finally due to be held between 12 and 14 May, have still not taken place because the delegates did not come to Kinshasa, for lack of funds.

Read also: FECOFA - Michy Enyeka: "The election of the new Executive Committee will take place on 30 May"

This situation is surprising because, according to the chairman of the FECOFA Electoral Commission, Michy Enyeka, FIFA had already given the FECOFA Normalisation Committee all the resources needed to hold all the elections. "The Electoral Commission never postponed the elections; unfortunately the voters did not make the trip. Before the scheduled dates, the National Youth Football League and the National Football League had informed the chairs of each body's electoral commission that the delegates had not travelled for lack of funds. And as the Electoral Commission had not postponed the elections, the delegates of each commission were there to draw up minutes recording that the elections had not been held for lack of funds," he said.

Michael Enyeka is asking the public to put questions to the members of the Normalisation Committee. "We have to ask why the funds were not made available to the delegates. At the meeting on 24 April and even in its letter setting up the panel of experts to support the electoral process, FIFA made it clear that it had already given the funds to the FECOFA Normalisation Committee. So if there are questions to be asked, they should be put to the CONOR, because the Electoral Commission has no funds," he confided.

A voters' memo in the pipeline

Exasperated by these repeated postponements with no valid reason, the voters are expected to send a memorandum to FIFA in the coming days demanding that the elections be held.

The announcement came from Lambert Osango, chairman of the Association of Football Club Leaders of the DR Congo. "At our last meeting with CONOR chairman Nsambi, he confirmed to us that FIFA had already sent the funds and only had to add a portion. But now we can see that the elections have not taken place at league level. And so we are saying that we voters, all together, must stand up to change things," he said.

Lambert Osango says signatures will be collected from voters to accompany the memo. "I am calling on all my fellow voters to stand up. We are going to draw up a memo that will circulate quickly so that the majority of voters can sign it before we send it to FIFA and demand that the elections be held before 30 June, as FIFA requires. There is no question of us going beyond that date. 4 days ago we spoke with people at FIFA and they assured us that the elections will definitely take place," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the FECOFA Electoral Commission says it is continuing with the process according to the current timetable, despite the hold-up in the elections at the national leagues, while hoping the situation unblocks.

Indeed, in line with the latest published timetable, it has opened the submission of candidacies for Executive Committee posts from 22 to 28 May. Whether that is the right approach remains to be seen.