B’ville referendum chairman names chief officer

Bougainville Referendum Commission chairman Bertie Ahern has named Mauricio Claudio as chief referendum officer for the referendum anticipated to be held this year.
Claudio arrived in Buka on Saturday to take up his post.
“We are absolutely delighted to have found someone as experienced and capable as Mauricio to lead our team through the referendum process,” said Ahern following a meeting of the Bougainville Referendum Commission in Buka yesterday.
Claudio, who is from the United States, has worked to support and conduct elections since the late 1990s.
Referendum work has taken him to the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia alongside prominent international organizations.
He is also no stranger to Papua New Guinea, having worked in Bougainville to support the 2015 ABG elections, and Bougainville’s 2017 community government elections.
Claudio lives in Indonesia with his wife and nine-year-old son.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato, who also sits on the BRC said: “It was important to all of the commissioners that we found someone with technical expertise, previous referendum experience and a deep knowledge of the context and history here.”
His counterpart in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Commissioner George Manu, said: “Mauricio has worked on our elections and he has lived among us before.
“We welcome him back and we know that he will get right to work.”