Governments committed to deliver referendum

THE Minister for Peace Agreement Implementation in the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) Albert Punghau has assured Bougainvilleans that the two governments were committed to deliver a successful referendum.
Punghau thanked the people for their patience, tolerance and hard work to make sure Bougainville had a credible referendum.
In welcoming Bougainville Referendum Commissioner to Arawa, Central Bougainville, Punghau said both governments were hoping to have a peaceful outcome of the referendum.
“I’m happy that the two governments are fully committed,” he said.
“The Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville governments are fully committed to delivering the referendum to determine your democratic choice.
“The Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) will work as a neutral agency to make sure the referendum is credible, is free and fair according to the Bougainville Peace Agreement.”
Punghau said he was working with Bougainville Affairs Minister Sir Puka Temu to ensure the referendum on Oct 12 was properly delivered.
Meanwhile, Ruby Mirinka, one of the six commissioners in the BRC said they were able to see off many challenges since their establishment in October last year.
She thanked the United Nations and governments of PNG, Bougainville, New Zealand, Japan and Australia for the funding support in conducting the referendum.
She said the commission was into phase two of the referendum process which was the enrolment and registration process.
Registration would continue to the issue of writs in Aug 16.
A quality check of the roll would be done in phase three.
“If the enrolment runs smoothly, we would see a better result of the referendum,” Mirinka said.
Referendum process: Phase 1 – clearing of the 2015 ABG election common roll; Phase 2 – enrolment/registration; Phase 3 – quality check / preliminary roll, Issue of writ (Aug 16), polling (Oct 12) and counting.