By JAMES APA GUMUNO
THE national election will be chaotic because the majority of villagers do not understand how to vote using the new ballot paper, the Permanent Parliament Committee on Law and Order was told yesterday in Mount Hagen.
The committee, led by Lagaip/Porgera MP Kappa Yarka, was told that the new ballot paper would cause a lot of confusion and chaos.
Public servants and polling officials in the province said the new ballot paper was really confusing for an ordinary person to understand.
The stakeholders recommended that the new ballot papers be done away with and the Electoral Commission reintroduce the old ballot papers used in the last elections.
Mr Yarka said after the meeting that it was clear that ordinary citizens were not aware of how to cast votes using the new ballot paper.
He said ample time was needed for the Electoral Commission to carry out awareness on the new ballot paper.
The ballot paper is separate from the candidates’ posters. Voters will have to write numbers one, two and three and names of their preferred candidates beside the numbers.
Mr Yarka said it was likely that voters would be deprived of their rights to vote a candidate they preferred because they would be confused.
He claimed candidates with money would hijack the process.
He said the meeting also highlighted concerns about the build-up of firearms to be used by candidates and their supporters during the elections.
Mr Yarka said police were ready to contain the use of guns and monitor the elections.
Meanwhile, he said the call for extension of parliament was the people’s call and not his committee’s.