Observers happy with polls so far

THE feedback from the general election observers has been positive so far, according to the United Nations resident coordinator Roy Trivedy.
More than 800 observers are visiting polling locations around the country to support the national election.
The observers are from Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Japan and other international groups accredited by the Electoral Commission.
The United Nations Development Programme was invited by the commission and the Government to facilitate and coordinate the observation effort.
It brought in two long-time
UN electoral experts to assist PNG with observer invitations, accreditation, briefings, mapping observer plans, and facilitating information sharing between various observer teams.
Trivedy, also the UNDP resident representative in PNG, said the feedback from observers was positive.
“The briefings covered the support available to observers through UNDP, security, gender, the legal framework, election planning, voter registration, candidate nominations, voter awareness, training, and logistics,” Trivedy said.
Former Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Sir Francis Billy Hilly said the briefing cleared the concerns for security and the vastness of the country.
The UNDP and New Zealand are helping them travel to other parts of the country.
Each observer group is responsible for its own plans and movements.
Some will have observers remaining in a given province for the entire polling period, while others will be moving around.
Observers will also be present for the counting in centres around the country.
Following the elections, observer groups will provide reports and recommendations to the Electoral Commission to improvement in national law and practice to improve the quality of future elections.