Call to distribute additional electoral boundaries fairly

Deputy Electoral Commissioner John Kalamoroh says the creation of additional electoral boundaries has to be evenly distributed throughout the country.
He said this during the Papua New Guinea electoral laws review seminar in Port Moresby yesterday.
“We have to protect the young democracy,” Kalamoroh said.
“We must have equal representatives of the people in the national parliament.
“Like for now, we have 41 open seats and seven provincial seats in the Highlands region, which is a total of 48 seats.
“That is like having 50 per cent representation in national parliament.
“Having 50 per cent seats in Parliament can determine the prime minister’s seat.
“There will be additional seven electoral boundaries be created in that region.
“That will bring it up to a total of 56 representatives.”
Kalamoroh stressed the importance of equal representation in Parliament.
“All electoral boundaries must have about the same number of people,” he said.
“One principle is that electoral boundaries should not created to discriminate any one.
“It is a serious issue if the boundaries are being created because of someone who is in power.
“We need to make that when we create boundaries, there has to be fairness.”