Candidates call for fresh polls

 FIFTEEN of the 31 candidates contesting the Mt Hagen mayor’s seat want the Electoral Commission to declare the Hagen Urban Local Level Government election a failed one.

The candidates, in a signed petition  presented to Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen, last week called for a fresh election to be conducted in the city.

One of the candidates, Elijah Samson Ate, said on behalf of the others there were many reasons to declare it a failed election.

They claimed that:

• Supporters of rural local level government candidates came with offensive weapons and disrupted the election in the eight council wards. That affected the base votes for candidates from other provinces living in the city;
• There was a lack of security at all polling stations resulting in double voting and intimidation in polling booths;
• Police personnel were seen disrupting polling stations unnecessarily and injuring women.

Samson said the candidates  claimed that polling were conducted in ungazetted polling areas.

They said that there were no proper records of used and unused ballot papers.

He said they wanted a fair election.