Commission should redesign ballot papers

Letters

I write to express my dislike with the design of the ballot papers to be used in this general election.
The bulk of the rural voting majority are illiterate and is norm that a young literate person escorts them to the polling booth to actually mark the votes for them on the ballot paper.
They are used to pointing fingers at candidate’s posters and physically stand there to see that the young literate guy puts the ink beside the pointed candidate on the same ballot paper.
Now that the posters will be printed separately from the ballot papers, how does the Electoral Commission (EC) expect illiterate voters to correctly memorise their preferential candidate’s numbers and mark them correctly in the order of their preference on the ballot paper?
This creates a significant opportunity for literate ones to divert the preferences of the votes to candidates of their affiliation and not of the illiterate voter.
The EC must take sufficient measures to address this window of opportunity for vote diversion.
I reckon that the most important moment in the electoral process is the moment when a voter inks his/her preferences on the ballot paper.
If the EC does not protect the right of the voter at that very moment, then the entire result of an election can be deemed to be altered with.

Davies Kia
Nomane, South Simbu