Brace yourselves for next year’s election

WITH next year’s national general election right around the corner, one wonders whether we are going to encounter another free, fair and safe elections, which is a mantra that the Electoral Commission advocates for.
Due to the volatile nature of the populace when it comes to election and the recent debacle in Port Moresby between an MP and a lawyer, I believe that next years’ election would be the most deadly in the country’s short history.
The recent Kandep open case where Don Poyle was welcomed back as MP should be a yardstick, although there were numerous cases of voter rigging in the past elections.
The Electoral Commission recently announced that there would not be any electronic voting system for the coming elections, hence the limited preferential voting (LPV) system would remain.
This opens the door for voter rigging to transpire again.
It will then continue the cycle of continuous election petitions, which costs the State ludicrous sums of money in challenging unnecessary court petitions.
The other issue is tribal warfare in the Highlands.
It is common knowledge that people there are still attuned to tribalism.
They stick up for their own so whether he/she is in the wrong, as long as the side they fight for wins, everyone wins.
This may escalate into a scary scenario where supporters of candidates might engage into tribal conflicts that result in loss of lives.
There has been little to no change in redoing the election machinery.
That would most likely allow past practices to surface again in the coming elections. The relevant authorities should be cautious in their approach.
Beef up security, engage independent election scrutineers and install CCTV cameras in every voting arenas if need be.
This may be one of the most dangerous but yet important election in the country’s history so proper dialogue and consultation should start now in order to avoid the spill-over effects and maintain the spirit of democracy so a true free, fair and safe elections is conducted.

Pom Observer