(Photo: www.imf.org)

The International Monetary Fund has warned African countries to watch their spending in 2011 to ensure that they will be able to handle the cost of elections and rising food and fuel costs, writes Reuters.

With 27 countries holding presidential, legislative and local elections, the IMF is concerned that incumbent candidates could raise wages as a means to win votes—which the agency says is a short-sighted move that could raise inflation.

"There are some hard decisions that governments will need to take this year, and those are even harder in a political season, but we want to encourage countries to pursue reforms as much as they can," Antoinette Sayeh, IMF director for Africa, told Reuters.

Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Liberia, Uganda and Zambia are just a few of the countries holding presidential elections this year. Nigeria held its presidential election on Saturday.