B’ville vote worries raised

PREPARATION for the Bougainville referendum is behind schedule with only four months to go before the target date of June 15, an official says.
Director of the National Research Institute Dr Osborne Sanida said the referendum was an important milestone to attain peace and prosperity after the Bougainville crisis.
He said the decade-long conflict resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and had a major negative impact on the economy.
Sanida said the peace agreement reached in August 2001 was a historical moment for the nation.
The referendum is one of the three pillars of the peace agreement.
“It is in the interest of every citizen of PNG that the referendum is well prepared and well administered, in a manner that all parties respect the outcome, and results in continuing peace for the people of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea,” he said.
He said “without sounding alarmist, I’m concerned that the preparation is behind schedule with only four months to go”.
“Consequently, we run the risk of either deferring the referendum from June 15 and or holding one without adequate preparation,” he said.
He said the electoral rolls were yet to be completed on Bougainville. There are also concerns raised by Bougainvilleans living outside Bougainville about how they would register and vote.
He said the bulk of the budgeted K50 million for the referendum operations was yet to be released.