Marat was officially declared this afternoon after a total of 14 boxes counted since Sunday for the East New Britain Province.
Rabaul Returning officer, Ekonia Walom whilst speaking on Radio East New Britain had ruled out the possibility of declaring a winner through an absolute majority as the candidate leading the tally count has fallen short by 200 votes.
The required votes for an absolute majority is 6, 520.
Running under the Melanesian Liberal Party, Rabaul sitting MP, Dr. Allan Marat polled a total of 6, 310 votes at the end of the last count.
