Commissioner assures payment of allowances

By HELEN TARAWA
Polling officials in NCD will be paid their allowances today, Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato says.
He said the commission was organising the payments.
Gamato was speaking at a press conference in Port Moresby after polling officials had threatened to boycott the counting of votes unless they were paid their allowances.
“I’ll check that one out,” Gamato said.
“I was told that meal allowances were paid while the polling allowances were being prepared.
“I have been informed that they  are ready.”
Gamato said that “hopefully” they could get the banks to transfer the money today.
Polling officials from teams five and six of Moresby North East were not happy with the non-payment of allowances.
They were told to turn up at the Sir John Guise Stadium and start work.
They said they were each paid K50 while another K600 was to be shared between them.
There were about 100 presiding officers at Sir John Guise Stadium yesterday out of the 576 for Moresby North East.
Assistant election manager Kavanamur Bale said Moresby North East officials were still in the process of finalising their returns and the teams were not quite ready for counting.
“All unused ballot papers are supposed to be returned and the officers were basically reconciling the excess ballot papers,” he said.
“The polling officials are given polling journals which contain all their records and they are supposed to return the journals before they are paid their allowances,” Bale said.
He said the training for counting officials would start today and the counting may start later this evening or tomorrow morning.