George Manu

Bougainville Electoral Commissioner, George Manu, said the number of participating candidates rose by 30 percent, while the number of presidential candidates was almost triple that of 2015.

Speaking at the return of writs on Thursday, September 24^th, at the House of Representatives, Manu said: “This election was keenly contested.”

Apart from that, the Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner noted an increase in the voter roll by around a third, including more than a 10-fold increase in Bougainvilleans outside Bougainville enrolments from 2015.

The acting Electoral Commissioner for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, George Manu, made the statement when addressing election officials during their enrolment training workshop in Buka last Tuesday.

He urged the officials to be mindful of their behaviour and attitudes when performing their electoral duties.

“We do not want to repeat similar mistakes committed by ROs (returning officers) and AROs (assistant ROs) engaged during the past national election and ABG elections in Bougainville,” Manu said.