Four progress poll awareness

ELECTION awareness in East New Britain is gaining momentum after the Electoral Commission contracted four civil society organisations to run programmes.
The four CSOs – Beehives Production, ADRA, ENB Field Workers Association and Vunatekenabeo Disable AIDS Care – were yesterday told that the focus of the programme was on advocating good governance, voting
good leaders who would promote transparency and accountability,
early campaigning and educating voters about the limited preferential voting system.
The programme is funded by the commission through electoral support funding from AusAID.
A member of the provincial awareness steering committee, Oscar Pidian, said the CSOs selected should not be side tracked into early campaigning by intending candidates.
The CSOs would be paid in phases as they conducted the programme and would be closely monitored and reviewed after each phase.
Previously, funding went direct to districts for returning officers and assistant returning officers to conduct awareness at the LLG level.
Five smaller community-based organisations will be working with the selected CSOs.
They will be directly reporting and making acquittals to the CSOs during their awareness engagements.
Pidian said elections awareness has been taking place through the mass media and through actions by the provincial electoral office that included the use of tertiary students to spread the message.