Bougainville Referendum Commission

Chief Referendum Officer, Mauricio Claudio, said as of Saturday, polling had finished for all locations, including the atolls, with just a few voters using the regional centres.

“Today we had 30 voters at Bel Isi Park and just seven at Arawa. The time to close polling has come and we don't want to risk double voting by people where their voter ink has begun to fade,” Claudio said.

With less than five days to go before Bougainville goes to the polls, the Chief Referendum Officer has once again given the assurance that the referendum will be free and fair.

The Chief Referendum Officer, Mauricio Claudio, and BRC Commissioner Ruby Mirinka, met with members of the media to update them on the Bougainville Referendum Commission’s progress so far.

BRC Chairman Bertie Ahern said the numbers reflected an intensive, inclusive and extended three-phase enrolment process.

The Commission has completed packing ballot papers and materials for all 246 polling teams for 829 polling places.

A total of 206,731 voters have been certified for the Referendum Roll.

This comprises 194,016 Bougainville Residents; 98,565 of which are men.

12 thousand on the roll are non-resident Bougainvilleans; 5,844 are women. Overall, there are 101 thousand women and 105 thousand men.

Acting Chief Referendum Officer Desmond Tsianai said postal voting is safe and secure and the BRC will note on the roll that a voter has been issued a postal vote.

Speaking in Buka, Acting Chief Referendum Officer Desmond Tsianai said the BRC is committed to ensuring full access to voting for all eligible voters through the SMS Roll Check and now the Postal Voting services.

Tsianai said Under the Organic Law, postal voting provides the flexibility for Bougainvilleans who may otherwise miss out on being able to vote.

The Writ marks the end of enrolment and formalises the dates for polling (23 November to 7 December). It is to be returned to the Governor-General by 20 December with the results.

On Wednesday, Ahern travelled with all Commissioners to Buka to brief the Bougainville House of Representatives before the official referendum process commences.

“It’s a great honour and a great accomplishment of Bougainville and both governments to reach this step, the eve of the Bougainville referendum,” Ahern said.

Chief Referendum Officer, Mauricio Claudio, said while some 202,000 have enrolled and are now checking the roll or using the SMS roll check service to confirm they are enrolled, some have not.

“We know that some people, even senior leaders, have not gotten themselves enrolled,” Claudio said.

“We don't want one person to miss out. Some people are waiting in their houses or offices for us to knock on their door. This will not happen. It is a much shorter public display of the roll in central locations by Ward Recorders where you need to go and check.

The trip to the Tasman and Mortlock Atolls had been frustrated for weeks by bad weather and a lack of a suitably sized boat to safely make the rough crossing to the two remote communities.

Chief Referendum Officer Mauricio Claudio said he was delighted to have finally secured a private charter yacht, and that the weather had slightly improved.

The Organic Law[1] defines an Interested Party as the Government of Papua New Guinea, the Autonomous Bougainville Government and Recognised Interest Groups. Only these Interested Parties can nominate scrutineers for the Bougainville Referendum.

The August 27^th briefing in Buka for Northern Region officers marked the last leg of engagement with all AROs, who are the administrative staff responsible for planning and administering referendum field operations.

In his opening remarks, Chief Referendum Officer Mauricio Claudio thanked all officials, acknowledging the honour to be involved in such an historic event.

Commissioner Patrick Nisira and Chief Referendum Officer, Mauricio Claudio, told Members that the Commission was on track to deliver polling, commencing 23 November, and called on their assistance to deliver clear and simple messages about the upcoming public display of the Preliminary Roll.