Inflated voters’ rolls in SHP: Candidates

CANDIDATES contesting the Imbonggu open seat in Southern Highlands province have alleged that there are inflated figures in the updated common rolls in some areas of the electorate.
They are particularly concerned about the number of people listed in Piambil 1 and Piambil 2 wards.
They said the figures 3,400 for Piambil 1 and 3,570 for Piambil 2 are “ridiculously high”, and they have detected many “ghost names” in the list.
The candidates have sent a letter of complaint to Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen (pictured) to look into the anomaly, but have not received any response so far.
An Electoral Commission staff at the head office in Port Moresby said that assistant returning officer for Imbonggu Steven Tipora was responsible for submitting true figures of voters in each ward.
He said they are just entering names that have been passed on from returning officers on the ground, adding that the final electoral roll will be made available in mid June, just a week before polling.
John Arikep Mombulu, a candidate for the Imbonggu open seat, said an accurate common roll is necessary to avoid messy and costly election disputes.

 

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