Candidates: Trawen’s order defied

Main Stories, National
Source:

The National, Monday July 9th, 2012

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
A GROUP of candidates are up in arms over a decision by a presiding officer to start counting ballot boxes held back by Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen.
Trawen had instructed the returning officer for Nipa-Kutubu John Ariso to hold back counting the 83 boxes from three of the five local level government councils in the district.
Regional candidates Joseph Kobol, Jerry Kewai, Fred Malo Tomo, Vincent Muripasi and Dickson Tasi said the ballot boxes for Nipa Basin, Nembi Plateau and Poroma LLGs were disputed. And Trawen had issued a directive to Ariso not to have these boxes counted.
Kobol said Trawen issued the directive after they lodged complaints that unauthorised presiding officers who were supporters of a particular regional candidate came in just before polling began and conducted polling in the 73 council wards of the three LLGs by marking the ballot papers themselves.
He said the presiding officers appointed by the provincial election steering committee and approved by Electoral Commission were replaced on June 22, a day before polling started.
The letter from Trawen dated July 3 and addressed to Ariso instructed him not to count the ballot boxes from the three LLGs.
Trawen said in his letter that he had received numerous objections from candidates and scrutineers about various ballot boxes from the three LLGs namely Nipa Basin, Nembi Plateau and Poroma.
“I now direct you not to take the ballot boxes from these LLGs into the counting area until such time you are advised appropriately,” part of Trawen’s letter read.
Kobol said despite this directive, Ariso ordered ballot boxes from these three LLGs for counting. Some ballot boxes were taken out last Thursday morning and counted.
He said when the scrutineers objected,  Ariso and police personnel in the counting room told them to shut up and ordered the counting officials to go ahead with the counting.
He called on Trawen and the police commissioner to intervene and stop these activities.
Ariso had said last week that unless he received a court order to stop the counting, he would proceed with it.