Pre-Polling Press Statement
Sunday 3rd July 2022, Port Moresby – The provision of timely, accurate and accessible information during the polling period will be critical to ensuring a democratically credible 2022 National General Election, says Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG). The delivery of the election has faced multiple administrative, legal and logistical challenges and it is now incumbent on the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission (PNGEC) and partners to ensure clear and consistent communication to voters, says TIPNG.
The local anti-corruption civil society organisation made this statement on the eve of deployment of its 300 strong volunteer observers across all 22 provinces in Papua New Guinea to look at the conduct of polling.
“Voters are justifiably concerned that the disjointed manner in which requisite electoral preparatory processes such as; the creation of new electorates, enrolment of new voters, updating of the roll, objection to the roll, appointment of returning officers, commencement of nomination, and gazettal of election and polling schedules, were delivered will in turn adversely impact the conduct of polling,” said Peter Aitsi, TIPNG Board Chair.
“Those across the country who have volunteered with TIPNG to observe the conduct of their local polling station, are demonstrating not only that people in Papua New Guinea are concerned, more importantly, they are showing that Papua New Guineans want to contribute to more free, fair and safe election in 2022. What is needed now is clear and consistent communication from the PNGEC and partners during the polling, counting and government formation periods,” said Mr. Aitsi.
TIPNG is accredited with the PNGEC as a domestic election observation group and will be working with individual volunteers from provincial partner organizations to collect data on the integrity of polling. The observation is a component of TIPNG’s Building Election Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) which commended in 2021 and is funded by the #PNGAusPartnership.
TIPNG has observed the 2007, 2012 and 2017 National General Elections, using the same observer survey instruments and also the 2013 LLG Elections, 2019 Bougainville Referendum and 2021 Moresby Northwest By-election. Reports from these observations have been presented to the PNGEC and Government and lead to reforms such as the introduction of the Limited Preferential Voting (LPV) system and the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC).
TIPNG will release its 2022 Election Observation Report in December 2022 and will be working alongside other domestic & international observers and state agencies, such as the National Research Institute, on post-election analysis to further inform reforms for electoral integrity in Papua New Guinea.
