Cameras will be used at polling stations during the Goroka By-election to prevent election rigging.
Police Minister Bryan Kramer said this from the capital of Eastern Highlands Province on Friday during an assessment of security preparations for the by-election.
“The cameras will be set up at each polling location to capture everyone voting as a deterrent to election rigging,” he stated.
“There are about 79 to 80 polling locations with about 160 polling teams.”
Kramer said in addition to the cameras at the polling stations, GoPro cameras will also be used during the transportation of all ballot boxes when polling is completed.
He said when the vehicle or helicopter arrives for the ballot boxes, the cameras will be used by police to monitor the boxes and serial numbers will be read out on camera; a process similar to the bank cash transits for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
“The boxes will be recorded from polling centres to vehicles or helicopters to the containers where they will be stored, and this provides zero opportunity to hijack the election process.”
All polling stations will be GPS mapped, have photographs taken and become a part of the command centre which is set up to manage risks throughout the electorate. Measures have also been put in place to counter people who use lemon or bleach to remove the indelible ink from their fingers after they have voted.
Police Commissioner David Manning has tasked Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Northern Command, Peter Guinness, to oversee the overall security of the by-election, and Provincial Police Commander (PPC)-Oro Province Michael Welly is responsible for command and control on the ground.
“The involvement of ACP Guinness and PPC Welly is to ensure independence and impartiality in the security operations specifically for the by-election. The PPC-Eastern Highlands will continue to police law and order in the province,” Kramer said.
About 400 police personnel from Lae, Madang and depending on the security risks, possibly special units from Port Moresby, will be deployed to Goroka for the by-election.
Polling is scheduled for September 22nd.