EC plans supplementary elections for failed wards

Gamato said the Commission had successfully completed LLG elections for all other wards except for 90 LLG wards in eight provinces, which equates to only 1.40 percent of the total 6,385 wards in PNG.

The 90 failed wards were published in the National Gazette on 15 August 2019 with Gazette No. G675.

“After carefully assessing field reports from my officers in the provinces concerned, I have made my decision as Electoral Commissioner to fail the 90 wards for serious breaches of laws and regulations governing democratic elections in our country,” stated Gamato.

“These serious breaches range from violence resulting in no polling to hijacking and destruction of ballot boxes and ballot papers in Hela, Eastern Highlands, Jiwaka, Enga and Western Highlands provinces.

“Some wards were failed because election forms 66A and 66B, which capture the results, were not signed by the respective returning officers.”

Gamato said some wards were uncontested, mostly in East New Britain, while people refused to vote in two wards in Enga, adding that in Gulf no elections were held in one ward.

The Electoral Commissioner outlines the 90 failed wards as follows:

Commissioner Gamato has already written to the Inter-Government Minister, Pila Niningi, and is waiting for the Minister’s approval of the proposed dates.

“I have proposed to have supplementary elections conducted towards the end of this month (October) and have them completed by the end of November 2019.

“I have requested funding support of K4.5 million from the National Government to conduct the supplementary LLG elections.”

In the meantime, less than 100 LLG election petitions have already been filed in the district courts.

“It is Electoral Commission’s duty to defend itself and the electoral process in the election petitions and I have also requested the National Government for funding to meet the legal bills.”