The Commonwealth group that has been observing the Papua New Guinea national elections has called for an urgent review of the electoral process.

The leader, former Nauru president, Baron Waqa, said he was gravely concerned at the daily incidents of violence and tragic loss of life that were being reported.

The Commonwealth Observers said the highly centralised structure of the Electoral Commission had undermined the effective delivery of the election.

They said the 2022 rolls were missing a large number of names, which in some cases meant up to 50 percent of eligible voters were not on the rolls.

They were critical of the late and insufficient disbursement of funds, and that unpaid bills and allowances from previous elections, created a lack of trust in the commission.

The observers reported numerous allegations of bribery and treating involving candidates’ agents.

They said they had witnessed the distribution of money and food to voters during the polling period.

They said there were inadequate efforts to facilitate the inclusion and participation of women, youth, persons with disability, and other disadvantaged groups in the political and electoral process.

The Commonwealth wants to see:

• immediate reforms to strengthen voter registration;
• the creation of a collaborative and decentralised Electoral Commission that is properly funded by government; and
• a national network to support voter education and participation.

The Commonwealth group that has been observing the Papua New Guinea elections has called for an urgent review of the election process.https://t.co/HbB4xK1cig

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) July 25, 2022

Moresby governor shocked at election violence
Meanwhile, the Governor of Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District has condemned the violence in the middle of Port Moresby on Sunday afternoon, reports RNZ Pacific.

People presumed to be supporters of rival election candidates clashed at the Sir John Guise Stadium where votes from the national election were being counted.

The attackers were armed with machetes and other weapons.

There are unconfirmed reports that at least two people were wounded.

Governor Powes Parkop said he was shocked to see such “grotesque violence” in the country’s capital, and in broad daylight.

He said it was totally unacceptable and no justification could be made for such unacceptable behaviour.

Parkop said last week that he had asked for police to provide increased security in the election counting centres as he was concerned about the tension and the security risks, but he added that he was not aware that any such efforts had been made.

He said those who committed these “grotesque acts of violence must be arrested and charged and if their candidates are also involved in the planning of these act of violence they too must be arrested and charged.”

Parkop called on all candidates to restrain their supporters and show leadership.

Bishops demand government return to capital
The Catholic Bishops of Papua New Guinea called on caretaker Prime Minister James Marape and his cabinet to return to the city and sort out the problems from the unruly election.

In a statement, the bishops said the leaders needed to return to supervise the proper completion of the electoral process; to direct the work and the intervention of the security forces; and to guarantee the safety of individuals, public institutions, and businesses.

They said a severe deterioration of events in the National Capital District in the next few hours or days would deprive those currently holding positions of responsibility of any future credibility and trust for the welfare of the country and its citizens.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Chaos. That is the one word for Papua New Guinea’s 2022 national general election.

Unfortunately, the election has descended to that level, and polling is slowly slipping out of the set timetables as chaotic scenes nationwide, manpower problems, logistics issues and unexpected postponements hit the schedule.

In the capital Port Moresby, voters were further shocked to learn that yesterday’s polling was suddenly pulled from under their feet at the 11th hour.

The big surprise shocked voters and businesses alike as the postponing of polling to Friday — is the second postponement to hit the nation’s capital.

Thousands of voters and candidates in Port Moresby returned home from polling stations around the city, angry, disappointed and even confused that they could not cast their votes while business are counting their losses.

The Post-Courier was told businesses were losing up to K1 million (NZ$455,000) for the one day stoppage and they will lose more on Friday when they close again to allow their employees to go to the polls.

“What’s happening? Money was allocated for this exercise. It looks like we have very incompetent people in leadership roles in the Electoral Commission.

‘Not doing their jobs’
“They aren’t doing their jobs,” said Wilma Kesi, a frustrated mother summing up the feeling among voters.

Polling in NCD (National Capital District) was initially planned to be held on Monday, July 4, together with the rest of the country except for the Highlands provinces but it was postponed to Wednesday, due to “logistic” problems.

Voters, among them hundreds of workers who took the day off from work to vote, woke up as early as 5am and went to the polling sites in anticipation for voting, only to be informed of the postponement after a long wait.

“This is not good. I left work just to come and vote and when they keep deferring, it’s not right because we can’t take too many days off work. My employer may not give me another day off to vote,” Collin Bill said.

The employers Bill is referring to include business houses in Port Moresby who shut down operations throughout the city to allow the workers time off to vote and they stand to lose millions of kina just to close operations for one day.

Major companies we spoke to agreed they stand to lose millions if kina for a day and this will rise when they close up again on Friday.

“We cannot deny our workers their right to vote. We have no choice but to close down operations again if the PNG Electoral Commission wants to conduct polling on Friday,” a senior manager of a leading retail company said.

Disruptive, costly
PNG Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ian Tarutia said the deferral of polling was disruptive, costly and an inconvenience for workers, employers, business houses and candidates as well.

“This is inexcusable and unacceptable. Voters, candidates cannot be inconvenienced because of the incompetency of the electoral administrative process.

“It is already bad enough as it is that half our voting population will miss out because names are missing from the common roll. If the new date for voting in NCD is Friday, stick with Friday.

“No more changes,” Tarutia said.

Speaking on behalf of the candidates, NCD regional candidate Paun Nonggorr blasted the PNGEC for the continuous deferral of polling, adding that all candidates and the voters must not accept this “amateurish display by the constitutional office holder”.

“I am confused as to what is going on and why this is also casually happening. Can you enlighten me on the reasons why this is happening,” Nonggorr asked in a message to Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai.

Not tolerated
He said the people should not tolerate this and he, as a candidate certainly could not tolerate this.

NCD Election Manager Kila Ralai explained at a press conference later in the day that interference from candidates and incomplete preparation by his office prompted the deferral of polling.

“We are not disorganised; we are trying our best to deliver elections for NCD. In the previous elections, they were chaotic, I just want to manage this election thoroughly, make sure we manage it properly.

“We just need to fix up our processes in order to deliver the elections,” Ralai said.

PNG Post-Courier reporters. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz