Ialibu-Pangia count on

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By MALUM NALU and JAMES GUMUNO
COUNTING for the Ialibu-Pangia seat currently held by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill began yesterday.
O’Neill, who is in his home district for the counting, told The National last night he expected the counting to proceed smoothly.
“Counting in Ialibu-Pangia has started,” he said.
“This is the easiest electorate with the lowest number of candidates.”
He won the seat in 2012 after beating seven candidates. He is up against nine this year.
Last week, Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato said the counting and declaration of a winner in Ialibu-Pangia would go ahead despite the concern raised by a lawyer on the legality of conducting polling there on a Sunday.
He said anyone challenging the decision to conduct polling on Sunday, contrary to the Organic Law on National and Local-Level Government Election, could do so later with the Court of Disputed Returns.
Meanwhile, police will investigate the diverting of 14 ballot boxes meant for a polling station in the Nipa-Kutubu electorate in Southern Highlands to a station elswhere.
Provincial police commander Chief Superintendent Sibron Papato said detectives from Port Moresby would investigate why election officials had diverted the boxes to another area where the papers were marked during polling on Saturday.
The seven ballot boxes for the regional seat and seven for the Nipa-Kutubu open seat were meant for the Mt Bosave polling station but were instead taken to Nipa.
The boxes contain 4335 open and 4335 regional ballot papers.
The boxes have been put aside at the Mendi police station and will not yet be counted, following a petition submitted by a group of candidates to election manager David Wakias, Deputy Electoral Commission operation Brown Sinai and Papato.