Solicitor General Tauvasa Tanuvasa has urged the Electoral Commission to comply with orders of the Supreme Court and reject nominations of candidates who were convicted of any criminal offences after June 25th, 2002.
He said following the decision, the Attorney General has written to Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai advising him of this decision.
The Electoral Commissioner however is yet to make a statement on this landmark ruling and the steps EC has in place to carry out these orders.
“It is only proper for EC to comply with the orders to avoid being in contempt with the law”, he added.
The Solicitor General further explained that the EC must undertake due diligence and put in place a screening process for every candidate who nominates to contest elections.
“The Electoral Commission should send a list of all candidates to National Court Registries in PNG to check their names for any indicatable offences”, he added.
When asked on the comments made by a convicted candidate seeking clarification from the court on the decision after his nomination had been accepted by the Electoral Commission, Mr Tanuvasa said, “I can tell you with full confidence that you cannot set aside this Supreme Court decision.”