Since being appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire Elon Musk has exposed several persons and institutions which used tax money of US citizens to fund various initiatives, most of which proved to be counterproductive to the respective countries.
In the latest expose, the Musk led DOGE said that $486 million was given to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). Of this $21 million was for ‘voter turn out in India. This amounts to roughly Rs 182 crore today.
Further DOGE also said that @29 million was spent strengthening the landscape in Bangladesh. It is a well known fact that Bangladesh today is a mess courtesy a coup that led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and the installation of George Soros puppet Muhammad Yunus as caretaker of the interim government.
Further USAID was also spent for conservation of biodiversity in Nepal. According to DOGE $19 million was spent for this purpose.
What does CEPPS do
CEPPS was established in 1995 and is a coalition of nonprofit, nonpartisan and nongovernmental organisations dedicated to promoting democratic institutions and governance worldwide. The now pulled down About Us page said that the organisation brings together expertise of three leading international organisations- the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). These are the three fronts of the CEPPS which operate in various countries.
US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
– $10M for "Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision"
– $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop "a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills"
– $2.3M for "strengthening…— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025
CEPPS also collaborates with political parties, election management bodies, civil society groups and parliaments apart from democracy related activities. CEPPS is active in 140 countries and provides democracy rights and governance programming and very often partners with USAID and other donors to deliver large-scale initiatives which are tailored to diverse political landscapes.
CEPPS which is mainly funded by USAID says that it has facilitated election monitoring, civil engagement and institutional development. It says it reinforces democratic norms in Asia, Africa, Eurasia, Europe, Middle East and Latin America.
Electoral interference and the India connect
On the face of it, CEPPS appears to be an organisation that is dedicated to strengthening democracy. However in reality, the role that it has played clearly suggests that the funding that it received was used to interfere in elections. CEPPS has since its inception received $2 billion. This has been used in 140 different countries.
Contrary to all the claims that it has made and now with the DOGE expose out in the open, it is clearly that the primary role of this organisation is to engage with political parties and election monitoring bodies. CEPPS has under it the Democratic Elections and Political Processes. This allows it to provide US funding to select groups linked to the elections. This allows it to tilt or dictate an election if the need be.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IEFS) which comes under the CEPPS had signed an MoU with the Election Commission of India in 2012. The Election Commission then was headed by S Y Quraishi.
In 2012 May, the Election Commission had signed an MoU with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in New Delhi. The aim was to develop and strengthen democratic institutions and electoral processes. A press release which was released back then said that the MoU aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange, joint training programmes, capacity building and research through the ECI’s International Institute of Democracy and Election Management. The agreement had been signed by SY Quraishi and William Sweeney, President and CEO of IFES.
A matter of concern
In addition to USAID, the IEFS is also funded by private players. They include the Open Society Foundation (OSF) which is owned by George Soros. Further it has received funding from Google, Meta and Microsoft.
The funding fro OSF is particularly concerning since Soros is accused of funding anti-India activities. The BJP had accused Soros of trying to overthrow the Narendra Modi government. Further he was also linked to Sonia Gandhi. The BJP said that she was the co-president of the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific, which is an entity that receive funding from the OSF led by Soros.
While the claims of interfering with the Indian electoral process is under investigation, Quraishi has denied all allegations. He went on to call the DOGE report as baseless.
“The report in a section of media about an MoU by ECI in 2012, when I was CEC, for funding of certain million dollars by a US agency for raising voter turnout in India does not have an iota of fact. There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in the MoU, forget X or Y amount. The MoU in fact made it clear in black and white that there would be no financial and legal obligation of any kind on either side,” he also said.
Elon Musk however said that, ‘US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled.” One of the items mentioned was “$486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening.” This amount included $22 million for inclusive and participatory political processes in Moldova and $21 million for voter turn out in India.
