East New Britain Province

“From the issuance of writs to the declaration of members-elect, the province has been trouble-free,” provincial police commander, Joseph Tabali, told Loop PNG.

However, the PPC made mention of a few law and order issues during that time, like the killing at Marmar village, Bitapaka local level government, where polling had to be deferred.

“There was also one bribery and impersonation at Duke of York Island and another impersonation at Gazelle.

Upon his arrival, Marat was welcomed by choirs and singsing groups, where he was escorted into the main airport lobby.

He gave his speech at the front of Tokua Airport where crowds of people waited outside to catch a glimpse of the Open member’s arrival.

Marat acknowledged the students who were early to prepare everything for his arrival, adding that education will be one of the top priorities for his district.

The fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, started from the principal’s office and quickly swept through the entire building in less than an hour, bringing into flames two deputy principals’ offices, the bursar’s office and the school’s main administration office.

According to a teacher, the fire started at around 4pm and by the time firefighters – arrived about an hour later from Kokopo – the entire two-storey building was already under flames.

Triumph Heritage Empowerment candidate, Sinai Brown, was recently excluded from the race.

The progressive tally:     

Kokopo Open - after count 3

Provincial police commander, Joseph Tabali, told Loop PNG that the local was caught bribing residents to vote for his candidate.

“The culprit was escorted to the mainland Kokopo Police Station on Sunday with ballot boxes,” says the PPC.

“This was a first-of-its-kind incident for the province.”

Apart from the arrest, no major happenings have been reported.

Meanwhile, Tabali says polling ended on Saturday (July 1) for the Gazelle and Rabaul electorates, while Kokopo and Pomio on Monday.

Identities of the man and the victims are being omitted from this article due to the age of the victims and the nature of the crime.

The man pleaded guilty before Justice Salatiel Lenalia at the Kokopo National Court and was sentenced to 39 years for two counts of persistent sexual abuse.

He was sentenced to 19 years and 20 years respectively for both counts on June 21.

The court suspended 9 years from his total sentence of 39 years, leaving him to serve 30 years at the Kerevat jail.

On Tuesday, June 27, a 40-year-old man from Marmar village died from wounds sustained during an election-related clash.

Provincial police commander (PPC), Joseph Tabali, told Loop PNG that the fight started on June 22, a day before the campaign period was to end.

“After campaigning, the deceased, Beringson Paul, and his team convoyed back to Marmar village, sometime between 8 and 9pm,” says Tabali.

“There they started preparing rations for the final day of campaigning, June 23.”

This is because in the 2012 elections, people in Pomio, especially in the Mamusi Rural LLG, refused to cast votes and threatened polling officials, says provincial police commander, Joseph Tabali.

And the reason for that?

“They said there were no government services in the area,” Tabali told Loop PNG.

“That’s why I am allocating four security personnel to one polling team for Mamusi. Other areas will only have two or three security escorts.”

“Based on past experiences, there were no problems at all,” ENB provincial police commander, Joseph Tabali, told Loop PNG.

However, he is anticipating a few issues from Kokopo, especially during the counting period.

“Rabaul and Gazelle were okay during their candidates’ forum (during the campaign period). But for Kokopo, other candidates and supporters started intimidating their rivals. This happened while candidates were on stage, presenting their party platforms.”