Court commits election returning officer to trial

THE Goroka Committal Court has committed an election returning officer to stand trial after finding sufficient evidence against him for allegedly enrolling ghost names and making false claims on the electors’ roll during last year’s national election.
Magistrate Gerard Vetunawa said there was sufficient evidence to commit Daulo returning officer John Walker to a trial in the National Court at a date yet to be set.
Walker is out on a K5000 National Court bail and two other co-accused, Isaac Oromoi and Awiyo Teninge, who face similar charges, were remanded awaiting court files to be completed.
Walker and the co-accused allegedly made false claims to enroll 2325 under-aged people and ghost names and inserted into the list of electors for the Daulo Open seat that affected the final result.
The inflated roll had 5154 electors instead of the actual eligible number 2801, an additional 2353 names of ghosts and under-aged were added, according to the court documents.
Walker was alleged to have illegally allowed under-age and ineligible voter population of 2353 to be used to vote at Mando Primary School polling place on June 27, 2017.
Walker was initially arrested in July last year, but was allowed out to make the declaration for the Daulo seat and he went into hiding until he was re-arrested in May this year.
Police reports stated that Walker had allegedly been evading police and went into hiding until informants tipped police who arrested him on May 14 at his Mando village in the Daulo district of Eastern Highlands.