Residents Disappointed With Polling

The Skyview Estate in Ward 9, Moresby North East area is home to 300 plus houses and its residents making it a big community of eligible voters.

However, due to deferral of polling from, Friday 8th to Monday 11th, the community missed out not only a set date for polling but hours of their paid jobs as well.

This newsroom visited the polling venue at Skyview Estate and were greeted by disgruntled residents who were disappointed and annoyed with the announcement of yet another deferred day of polling.

Skyview Estate Chairman, Garima Tongia, spoke on behalf of the community in airing their disapproval of the manner in which elections are being delivered for 2022.

The community made haste early Friday morning in preparing their recreational venue for the polling teams to set up only to be let down again losing another day of work. 

“This is a high covenant area where a lot of people are employed. So we have taken today (Friday) off, we started this process on Wednesday. We took the day off to allow for our citizens, residents of this estate to exercise their democratic right to vote in a leader. The unfortunate thing is that we are so depressed, we are not looking forward to losing another working day on Monday,” said Mr Tongia.

He added, “We are here to vote a responsible government that can look after our issues, the concerns of our people and lead this country forward, but unfortunately the electoral commission, for whatever reason, has let us down.”

Mr Tongia said he would advise the Electoral Commission that because there was no polling on the set date, the Skyview Estate residents would not allow it to take place on Monday 11th July as people needed to resume work and make up for lost hours.

Resident Jenny Nakanda said, “Most of us residents are very good citizens of this country, we have constitutional rights to vote our right leaders and we don’t have to be delayed or go back and give an excuse to our companies again. From another day to another day. I think that this is really a slap on our faces on rightful voters here…we are unhappy.”

These citizens of PNG have advised that perhaps the best solution would be for the PNGEC to suspend incompetent members of the Commission and its Commissioner and that with the new government for the next five years, appoint a better PNGEC.

Author: 
Carol Kidu