General Election 2022 chaos in Eastern Highlands and Enga

News that matter in Papua New Guinea

General Election 2022 chaos in Eastern Highlands and Enga

PORT MORESBY: General Election 2022 (GE22) chaos has broken out in Eastern Highlands and Enga as ballot boxes are being hijacked by rival candidates’ supporters locked in fights.

In Enga, Commander Acting Superintendent George Kakas said the police station, storing ballot boxes, had been under attack for the past three days.

“They also tried to burn down incumbent MP Sir John Pundari’s house, the sub-district office and Yumbiliam High Scxhool,” he added.

In Goroka, eight women and six children were among 86 people detained in the police station for alleged tampering of two ballot boxes from the Eastern Highland’s Daulo.

And police are looking for the presiding officer and polling officials of a polling centre to be questioned over the disappearance of 808 ballot boxes.

Commander Superintendent Michael Welly identified the presiding officer as Cliffson Asa who was in charge of the Maninga Field polling centre in Minamalo.

PNG Cyber Monitor reproduces below the news break and a few General Election 2022 news updates as published by The National:


Uproar in Goroka

July 15, 2022The NationalMain Stories

Some of the 86 people from Daulo detained at the Goroka Police Station for allegedly tampering with two ballot boxes. – Nationalpics by ZACHERY PER

By ZACHERY PER
EIGHT women and six children are among the 86 people detained at the Goroka Police Station for the alleged tampering of two ballot boxes from the Daulo electorate of Eastern Highlands, police say.
Eastern Highlands Police Commander Superintendent Michael Welly reminded everyone yesterday that once ballot papers, whether fraudulently filled or not, were put into the ballot boxes, they become the property of the PNG Electoral Commission.
He said no one except the Electoral Commissioner or his agents were allowed to tamper with election papers and boxes.
According to Daulo’s Returning Officer John Kopi, a fight erupted among supporters of candidates at the Keto polling station in Daulo on Tuesday.
Kopi said polling was suspended and the election team returned to Goroka because of the fighting in Keto.
“Polling was suspended because of the tense situation,” he said.
“When officials arranged for re-polling the next day (Wednesday), they found that the ballot papers had been already marked.
“Obviously, those ballot papers will be (regarded as) informal votes because they were without the officials signatures (of the presiding officer and assistant presiding officer).”
Kopi said the two ballot boxes – for the open and regional seats – from the Keto polling station were left at the Goroka police station on Wednesday.
When some Daulo candidates and their supporters heard about the illegally marked ballot papers from the Keto polling station, they fronted up at the Goroka police station yesterday.
They then allegedly tampered with the two ballot boxes from Keto at the police station.
Kopi said when police reinforcement arrived at the station, the supporters were rounded up and locked in the police cell.
He condemned what the candidates and supporters were doing to the ballot papers and boxes.
Supt Welly said there were processes and procedures as specified in the electoral laws for everyone to follow.
He urged candidates and their supporters to respect the electoral process.

Police looking for officials

July 15, 2022The NationalMain Stories

By ZACHERY PER
POLICE in Goroka are looking for the presiding officer and polling officials of a polling station to be questioned over the disappearance of more than 800 ballot papers.
Eastern Highlands Police Commander Superintendent Michael Welly identified the presiding officer as Cliffson Asa who was in charge of the Maninga Field polling station in the Minamalo Local Level Government in Goroka district.
Police want to question him and the polling officials over the disappearance of 808 ballot papers for the Goroka electorate.
“They will be arrested and asked to explain what happened to the ballot papers, who was behind the move to (remove) the ballot papers, while leaving the other materials behind at the police station,” he said.
He said voters at Maninga Field lodged a complaint with the police.
Goroka candidate Jeffery Sasuo said the officials should explain what happened to the ballot papers.
“We want a free, fair and transparent election.
Such people do not deserve to be seen again in Goroka,” Sasuo said.
Goroka returning officer Baffic Russel assured the voters and candidates that they had noted the serial numbers of the ballot papers and if they appeared during the counting process, they would be excluded.
He said unfortunately there were no extra ballot papers left to allow them to cast their votes.

Roads in Mt Hagen cleared

POLICE acted quickly to clear the roads in Mt Hagen on Tuesday blocked by a group of people protesting the appointment of the returning officer for Hagen Open.
Provincial commander Supt John Sagom said the protest and the blocking of the road were illegal.
“They should understand that their actions breached the laws on transport and infrastructure (when they) blocked the Highlands Highways, which also caused injustice to the travelling public,” Sagom said.
“It is also illegal because they did not notify beforehand the offices of the PPC or the ACP.”
The blocked highway affected people trying to go to Mt Hagen from Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga and Jiwaka.
Members of the Quick Response Force, the Special Services Division, Correctional Services and local police were sent to immediately clear the road.
Sagom said the team arrived at the first roadblock on the border of Western Highlands and Jiwaka (Waghi Bridge) and found a semi-trailer owned by Mapai Transport blocking the road.
The vehicle was believed to be on its way to Lae when the driver was held up. They used the truck to block the highway.
Flights in and out of Mt Hagen were also cancelled on Tuesday because of vandalism of the runway. The flights resumed yesterday.
Meanwhile, troops sent to Hela, Enga and Southern Highlands returned to the Western Highlands yesterday.

Counting to begin in EHP, official says

Eastern Highlands election manager Gore Kaupa and provincial police commander Superintendent Michael Welly addressing disgruntled Daulo candidates at the National Sports Institute counting centre on Wednesday. – Picture supplied

POLLING in the eight districts of Eastern Highlands was completed on Wednesday with counting expected to start today, provincial election manager Steven Gore Kaupa says.
He said ballot boxes from Obura-Wonenara, Okapa, Kainantu, Lufa and Henganofi had reached the National Sports Institute counting centre.
“We are confident of starting counting on Friday.
But it again depends on the completion of returns by presiding officers and returning officers of the eight electorates of Eastern Highlands,” Kaupa said.
He said for Daulo district, the disputed boxes would be opened first for counting to clear any doubts over the processes taken by the officials.
Kaupa and provincial police commander Superintendent Michael Welly talked to the Daulo candidates and scrutineers who were making allegations about smuggled ballot papers and boxes.
Candidates alleged a government vehicle was transporting extra ballot boxes and chased it to the police station.
Frustrated supporters threw stones at the police station. A vehicle belonging to incumbent MP Pogio Ghate was was damaged.

Welly and his men intervened quickly to save the driver.

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