Secretary blames village councillors for misleading election committees

National Executive Council Secretary Ilagi Veali says village leaders should be held responsible for misleading the Inter-Departmental Election Committee (IDEC) on the updating of the electoral roll.
Veali, when casting his vote at Pelagai village, Abau district in Central province, said IDEC was only decimating information that the roll had ready based on what the councilors were telling them.
“The councillors are the ones responsible for updating the voters in their communities,” Veali said.
He said that he had come early in morning (Monday) from Port Moresby to vote.
“The village population is about 7000. But from what I’m getting, eligible voters are only 1500 and there is no justification on this,” Veali said.
“I believe the common rolls we are using are the 2012 ones and the cover of the roll is 2017.
“Many updates, I believe, were not done. Even some villagers who have been in the village all this time have no names on the roll. It is frustrating. Maybe our councillors or local PNGEC officers didn’t do their jobs properly.
“From what I heard, there were many voters who have given their names to update during the updating period. But they have not found their names.”
However, Veali said that polling was orderly, unlike in past elections when there were rowdy incidents.
Meanwhile, a villager who voted, said  villagers who had no names on the roll had only themselves to blame.
He said at the time election officers were updating their rolls in the village, there was a rugby and netball tournament and everyone was at the field.