Dr Hewali Hamiya’s petition challenging Philip Undialu’s win as Hela Governor has been dismissed by the Waigani National Court following a trial.
Justice Ellenas Batari was of the view the grounds presented by Dr Hamiya had no merits.
Dr Hewali Hamiya raised issues in the petition regarding conduct of the election and the lack of scrutiny provided by the Electoral Commission.
He alleged other irregularities of the conduct of the election, like hijacking of ballot boxes, use of excess ballot papers’ errors and omissions; and that the Electoral Commission provided poor scrutiny on the conduct of the election.
Following presentation of evidence before the court, Justice Ellenas Batari found no real merits based on evidence.
The court had no power to enquire into the common roll, the alleged extra ballot papers used fell short and the petitioner failed to show how it would affect the election results.
The court also found that Dr Hamiya did not show how poor security and scrutiny of the election process by the Electoral Commission would affect the election results.
The common roll, presented by a returning officer during the trial, was in accordance with the total number of voters.
Dr Hamiya’s petition has been dismissed however, the outcome of Francis Potape’s petition which was reinstated by the Supreme Court, after a successful review of the dismissal, remains.