By HARLYNE JOKU
VOTES in the first ballot box received from the Moresby North East electorate were counted yesterday.
However, they were put back into the box and set aside when figures involving the actual number of ballots counted and the figure on the official returns did not match.
Scrutineers found out that the number of actual ballot papers taken out of the box and counted were higher than that recorded on the returns submitted to the returning officer.
Immediately, a protest was lodged and the questioned box had to be set aside as election officials were unable to explain how this came about.
Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen was surprised when told about this at a press conference.
He said he was not briefed on this, but he stressed that the procedures was to go by the returns produced by the presiding officer in charge of a box from a polling area.
The discovered discrepancy meant that the ballot box for the NCD provincial seat from the same polling area was also set aside.
Several scrutineers quickly alleged foul play by certain candidates and polling officials.
Provincial returning officer Peter Malifeope confirmed that there were discrepancies.
He said they had to set that ballot box aside and continued the count of votes from other boxes.
“We will check and exhaust all the returns and find out how these anomalies had occurred,” Mr Malifeope said.
Returning officer for Port Moresby North East Cyril Ritau said the number of returns, which was the ballot papers originally issued by the Electoral Commission to the wards at the start of polling, was much lower than the total count of votes contained in the ballot box.
“The difference was over 100 ballots, which was too high,” Mr Ritau said.
However, he was unable to explain how it happened.
Counting proceeded with the questioned box being set aside and by 6pm, candidate Labi Amaiu was leading with 106 votes, followed by Wilson Thompson (102), and Casper Wollom and Norman Fernandez both with 95 votes.

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