Election related fraud, irregularities and violence of elections had compelled the Government to task the Constitutional Law Review Commission to gauge public view on a specific terms of references to addressing the issues before the next elections.
CLRC chairman, Robert Atiyafa said lack of compliance, collusion between candidates and electoral officials and security officers, and strong Melanesian cultures consistently weaken democracy in this country.
When concluding its public consultation on review of the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government elections in Enga recently, CLRC chairman Robert Atiyafa said cheating in elections is widespread that candidates in many areas have done that to win seats in Parliament.
He said as a result, Papua New Guineans have lost confidence in the integrity of the electoral system.
The main objective for the consultation with the public is to come up with constitutional changes towards restoring integrity to the PNG Electoral System.
The terms of references for public consultation include,
- Electoral Roll system
- Polling system including polling period and polling places
- Electoral Boundaries
- Women and special interest representation in Parliament
- Nomination Fees. This include eligibility for nomination Election petitions, filling fees and period of filling Voter Identification system;
- Local Level Government elections ;
- Electoral Offences;
- Power, functions and composition of electoral commissioners and;
- Decentralization of election responsibilities.
Meantime, the other 21 provinces were covered last year except Enga as the country wrapped up government programs for Christmas Holidays.