PNG’s GE22 return of writs extended to Aug 12

News that matter in Papua New Guinea

PNG’s GE22 return of writs extended to Aug 12

PORT MORESBY: The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission has extended the return of General Election 2022 (GE22) writs from Friday (July 29, 2022) by two weeks because it is unable to complete counting of ballots nationwide.

The new deadline for the return of writs is now Aug 12, 2022.

Up to yesterday (July 27, 2022), only 25 winners have been declared for the 118-seat 11th Parliament.

PNG Cyber Monitor reproduces below the news break and a few GE22 news updates as published by The National:


Return of writs: Aug 12

July 27, 2022The NationalMain Stories

THE return of writs for the General Election 2022 (GE22) has been extended by two weeks to Friday, Aug 12, at 4pm.
Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae yesterday accepted a request by Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai to extend the deadline from July 29 to Aug 12.
It will allow time for counting to be concluded properly, and for the winners of the 118 provincial and open seats to be declared.
Sir Bob said in a statement yesterday: “It would be impossible to complete all counting by Friday (July 29) so I accept the extension by 14 days to Aug 12 at 4pm.
“The extension will save time and resources and (to) avoid a failed election which will be costly if we were to start all over again.”
Sir Bob also recommended that:

  • EVERYONE learns from the GE22, prepare for and conduct a better general election in 2027;
  • THE election process should start as early as 2023;
  • THE Electoral Commission gets its finances and manpower resources sorted out early; and,
  • THE biometric system be introduced, or other similar technology, so that once a vote is cast, it is automatically tallied and stored and declarations can be made precisely and immediately.

“This way we avoid all the problems we have witnessed in this election – the hijacking of boxes, disputes and delays in counting and violence,” Sir Bob said.
“A number of people have lost their lives from election-related violence.
“It is very unfortunate and should not have happened at all.”
Sinai said 18 winners of the 118 seat contested had been declared so far.
Counting for the remaining 100 is in progress.
He said election officials were now working on a 24-hour shift to speed up counting.
Sinai told Sir Bob that the GE22 exercise was delayed right from the beginning, mainly because of financial constraints.
In addition, the death of Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil also put everything off by one week.
He also blamed logistics and the election officials failing to turn up on time at their designated areas which slowed down the polling process.
Sinai also defended the extension of the Return of Writs, saying it was still within “the fifth anniversary of the day fixed for the return of writs for the previous general election”.
“The extension of time seeks to avoid a failed election and is also intended to provide time to allow all the writs to be returned accordingly,” he said.
Sir Bob also expressed concern about the recent spate of violence in Port Moresby, Enga and Markham and Kabwum in Morobe.
He urged the people to refrain from inciting violence, fighting and the destruction of properties.
“I am appealing to everyone to refrain from violence and allow the process to complete in an orderly and peaceful manner,” he said.

802 votes excluded from Goroka

July 27, 2022The NationalMain Stories

By VICKY BAUNKE
A TOTAL of 802 ballot papers that went missing at a polling booth in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, will not be admitted for counting.
Eastern Highlands provincial election manager Steven Gore Kaupa said this at the counting centre after seeking advice from the Electoral Commission.
Kaupa said the ballot papers belonging to the Maninga polling booth, Notofana village, in the Gahuku local level government (LLG) were found among the Rothmans ballot papers during distribution before counting on Saturday at the National Sports Institute (NSI).
“It was mixed with the Rotmans ballot papers and we went through the serial numbers and the serial range and the 802 ballot papers that went missing on Tuesday morning (July 7) after leaving the Goroka police station,” he said.
He said the presiding officer was responsible for the ballot papers and was yet to report to the police.
“We have sought legal advice from Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai and he said polling at the Rothmans polling booth must be respected and the Rothmans votes must be counted.
“The Maninga ballot papers that were stolen and found at the Rothmans polling booth will not be admitted for counting,” he said.
Kaupa said advice from Sinai was for ballot papers for Maninga be removed from the total number of papers that was cast at Rothmans.
He said that Rothmans itself had a voting population of 1,600 and with the 802 from Maninga going down, the total papers used at the polling booth at Rothmans was about 2,400.
“But now with the legal advice from the Commissioner, the 802 ballot papers that belong to the Maninga polling location will now be removed and not admitted for counting,” he said.

Tom clears air on Maramuni boxes in Wabag

 Open MP Dr Lino Tom welcomed at the Tropicair terminal in Port Moresby after being declared winner of the Wabag Open to serve a second term in Parliament. – Nationalpic by DALE LUMA

By DALE LUMA
INCUMBENT Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister and Wabag MP Dr Lino Tom says there was no hijacking of ballot boxes for Maramuni in Wabag’s election process.
Upon his arrival in Port Moresby yesterday after retaining the seat by an absolute majority, Dr Tom clarified that the decision to move ballot boxes for Maramuni into Pasalagus station was done by the people of Maramuni themselves.
“The people of Wabag have been complaining that we hijacked ballot boxes so I want the nation to know that the decision was made by the people of Maramuni, it was not anybody’s decision,” he said.
“The people of Wabag blocked roads and wanted to destroy ballot boxes for Maramuni before they were transported to Maramuni.
“They tried to shoot down helicopters and blocked roads that’s why the people of Maramuni themselves chose that for the safety of the boxes, they themselves made the decision.”
Dr Tom, who was received by the Maramuni community in Port Moresby, vowed that service delivery would continue in the district.
He said following on from the construction of the road into Maramuni, the Enga-Sepik highway would be progressed in this term of parliament.
Maramuni community representative Steven Moses congratulated Dr Tom for being re-elected.
He also wanted the people of Wabag to do away with the idea that ballot boxes for Maramuni were hijacked.
Dr Tom was declared the winner of the Wabag Open seat on Tuesday with 35,783 votes, 24,976 votes clear of runner-up Kennedy Thomas Lemban.

ToBaining Junior wins Kokopo seat

PEOPLE’S National Congress (PNC) candidate Ereman ToBaining Junior is the member-elect for Kokopo.
ToBaining Jnr was officially declared as Kokopo MP yesterday afternoon by returning officer Darius Kunai.
He polled 12,052 votes after exclusion 20 of People’s First Party candidate Komet Malari, who polled 8,005, sitting MP and Pangu candidate Emil Tammur received 6,729 votes.
Absolute majority after exclusion 20 was 9,392 and ToBaining received 2,660 votes over that mark.
ToBaining was the MP for Kokopo from 2012 to 2017.
He lost the seat to Tammur in the 2017 general election.
ToBaining Jnr is from Balanataman ward in the Raluana local level government in Kokopo.
He thanked the other candidates and urged them to work with him to develop Kokopo and was looking forward to working with the district administration.
ToBaining said his immediate priority would be to improve law and order in the district.

Paita retains Finschhafen seat, to serve for next five years

RAINBO Paita has retained the Finschhafen Open seat he first won in 2017, saying the big margin between him and the runner-up indicated the people’s confidence in his leadership.
The Pangu Pati candidate polled 23,504 voted.
Runner-up and former Finschhafen MP and Speaker Theo Zurenuoc received 4,157.
Paita told the people in Gagidu, Finschhafen, that the number of votes he received showed the popular support of the people.
“With that, I am not taking your support for granted (but) seriously,” he said.
“I will work extra hard to ensure services are delivered to the people in the next five years.”
Paita was satisfied with the level of service he had provided in the past five years.
“Services I have brought to the people (include) road and bridges maintenance, police station and other public facilities,” he said.
Paita thanked the candidates who contested the seat and his supporters in Burum Kuat and Hube local level governments for 14,500 votes.

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