US sanctions top DRC electoral officials

By Michael Hernandez</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – The U.S. on Friday sanctioned five top Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) electoral officials over &quot;significant corruption&quot; related to the country's December elections.</p> <p>The State Department said &quot;there are legitimate concerns over the conduct and transparency of the electoral process&quot; in announcing actions which designated electoral commission President Corneille Nangaa, and the commission's vice president Norbert Basengezi Katintima in addition to three others.</p> <p>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also imposed visa restrictions on unspecified election officials, and officials in the military and government &quot;believed to be responsible for, complicit in, or to have engaged in human rights violations or abuses or undermining of the democratic process in the DRC.</p> <p>&quot;These individuals enriched themselves through corruption, or directed or oversaw violence against people exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,&quot; the agency said in a statement. &quot;They operated with impunity at the expense of the Congolese people and showed a blatant disregard for democratic principles and human rights.&quot;</p> <p>The Democratic Republic of Congo held elections Dec. 30 for its first-ever democratic transfer of power since the country achieved political independence in 1960 from Belgium. But the results have been scrutinized after the two declared losers contested the polls.</p> <p>Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was declared winner by the electoral commission with 38.57 percent of the vote.