Candidates suspicious of ‘flawed’ electoral rolls

By JEFFREY ELAPA
FOUR intending candidates in the Dei open electorate, Western Highlands, claim the electoral rolls are flawed.
They want the Electoral Commission to re-do the roll updates in certain areas where they claim numbers had been inflated.
The intending candidates – Wilson Ten, James Papa, Jacob Wam and Nikints Tiptip – expressed dissatisfaction at the manner in which the commission was allowing “undue influence, nepotism and corruption to creep into the electoral roll update process”.
They claimed the preliminary roll for Kutunga, Gumanch 1, Gumanch 2, Muglamp 1, Muglamp 2 and Mun council wards were inflated.
They said the preliminary roll update for Dei electorate was biased and needed to be properly updated before the election.
“We believe that the decision to defer the national election by three or six months should be upheld to allow the time for the Electoral Commission to fix the rolls in all parts of the country as we understand that all rolls are flawed,” they said in a joint statement.
The candidates are calling on the Electoral Commissioner to remove returning officer Steven Korowa and his two assistants, Raphael Koldop and Las Aki, because they are tribesmen of sitting member, Puri Ruing.
They alleged sitting MPs were colluding with Electoral Commission staff to influence the rolls.
“As far as the people of Dei are concerned, these areas are Ruing’s stronghold and if the inflated figures are signs of bias, undue influence and corruption and we need the commission to explain to the people how this increase happened,” they said.
“We are calling on the commission to go back and conduct a head count in those areas so that the people get a fair opportunity to choose their leaders.
“If the commission cannot handle these very fundamental issues then it is not prepared for fair, free and safe elections.”