Dion beats Sir John to retain ENB regional seat

By ABIGAIL APINA
EAST New Britain Leo Dion has urged the public and private sectors to work with him in the development of the province over the next five years.
He retained his provincial seat and was declared ENB governor on Wednesday night at Channel College in Kokopo.T.H.E party’s candidate Dion won comfortably after the 13th exclusion when he beat his close rival Sir John Kaputin with 5,155-vote margin.Dion collected more than 3,000 votes in the last exclusion after Levi Orong’s votes.He polled 35,195 votes, Sir John had to settled for second with 24,887.
Addressing a large crowd after his declaration, he said he would do his best to deliver to the province, saying plans were already established but they required more dedication to implement them.
“We cannot walk out of the system of government. If we do then we will face problems and I hope what happened in the past can be a stepping stone for us to learn and move on.
“I will continue to stand firm to ensure there is good governance, transparency and accountability in this province,” he said.He appealed to other elected members in the province to also show their hands and represent the silent majority in the province.
He thanked the lone woman candidate for the seat, Lanieth Aua, for displaying courage and confidence in standing up against 14 men, adding she had proven that women were to be trusted to lead the people.
He said Aua, being a first-time candidate and a woman, had achieved great results which he admired.
He urged other women to consider contesting in 2017 elections.
“Women, you can do it,” Dion said.
He also thanked all the stakeholders in contributing to a successful election in the province.