General election at halfway mark

BY right, all loud hailers should fall silent by midnight.
All the posters should have come off by tomorrow but they probably won’t.
General Election 2022, touted to be one of the most important in PNG’s 43 years of history, has reached the halfway mark.
It came after the hard fought exchanges on schedule, whether to delay because of concerns on the common roll.
Ahead lies polling which start on Monday and ends on July 22.
The counting period then runs from July 23-29 with the return of writs on and before that day.
Then the campaign to form a new government for the 10th parliament.
An important message that should not be taken lightly is for all eligible voters to correctly note their polling venues, times and dates so they do not miss out on participating in this important exercise of electing their parliamentarians.
Those in the one-day polling areas should not misuse or deny themselves the one-day polling because it’s their only opportunity to make a difference.
All eligible voters must know where to go and what to do when they get to the polling clerk.
They will each receive one ballot paper for the provincial governor and one for ballot paper for a member in the open electorate.
The voter then chooses three candidates among the names on the ballot paper by placing the number “1” as the first preference, indicates the second preference with number “2” and the number “3” for the third candidate.
The important phase of it all is to abide by the electoral laws of the country to ensure a peaceful and successful election.
Interestingly, the focus has now switched from Waigani to the provinces.
So far so good, there has not been much disruption to campaigning but maybe that’s too early to say anything.
Polling must be completed and the ballots counted.
We cross our fingers, wait with bated breath and pray that the news coming in from throughout the country will not speak of widespread violence such as what happened in past elections.
We pray that the people’s will can exert itself above the naked greed of those who wish to destroy ballot boxes or hijack them or coerce or intimidate voters.
And so far through nomination and campaign, news has not all been bad.
Sure there have been isolated incidents of violence – the count now from election-related violence stands at 30 deaths from Morobe, East Sepik, Chimbu, Western Highlands and Wabag.
However, much as we might against this being repeated, the odds are against us.
The stakes are extremely high.
It is not just a power thing anymore.
Money and loads of it, is in the offing.
We notice people have grown wary of politics and politicians.
Maybe it’s only where we are.
They have grown tired of all the false promises in the past which have rarely been fulfilled.
And the voter has matured.
He is more circumspect.
He is more concerned about his rights and his future.
And many more are now beginning to realise the power they hold in their hands. They realise that when they go to polls, they wield a lot of power.
With the power comes a very special responsibility to vote not just for the friend or tribesmen but for their own welfare and future.
Realising that responsibility and performing the role in the past have been far apart.
In the past, voters have been coerced, threatened and intimidated into voting for certain candidates.
And we hope voters vote for candidates based on party policies and not personalised vote – voting for candidates they think will mostly likely help them directly or help their families or their villages.
All that said, everyone is looking forward to a good, fair and free polling.