Weather may be an issue for the Alotau Open electorate, but Returning Officer Lindsay Alasana is determined to see this polling through to the end.
23 teams in the electorate started the polls yesterday, while six more teams are expected to do so by Monday.
From these six teams, four are for the Daga Rural LLG and two for the Makamaka Rural LLG - the reason being late training, according to Alasana.
In general, he said polling commenced smoothly with no reports of security issues despite the delay in police presence at polling areas. Police should be dispatched to locations by today.
But there is a bigger issue for some voters.
“Some voters are not listed in the common roll. They showed up to vote and had to be turned away. I understand how frustrating this is but there’s nothing else we can do about this,” he said.
He also added that the weather has a big part in how smooth the polling period will be.
“It’s raining and the seas are rough. If it’s not safe for the helicopter, we terminate any flights. Otherwise, it will be a good one,” Alasana added.