Poll integrity below par: Gelu

By LUKE KAMA
THE overall integrity of last year’s national election process was way below the expected level of 60 per cent, Registrar of Political Parties and Candidates Dr Alphonse Gelu says.
He yesterday launched the 2017 election observation report compiled by the registry in Port Moresby.
He said the methodology used in carrying out the study was not a “desktop observation. It is based on actual observations of events taking place during the campaign, polling and counting by officers from the registry and stakeholders”.
The study focused on the performance of political parties, the performance of the women candidates who contested and the integrity of the election process.
“And integrity of the election process is the most important part of the study because integrity defines what the process should be and how the law applies to the process of election,” he said.
“Integrity comprises values that are acceptable within a democratic political culture which encompasses transparency, accountability, legitimacy and the rule of law.”
Gelu said without legitimacy, the outcome would be deemed unlawful. “The integrity of the election process was way below the expected level of 60 per cent,” Gelu said.
He said while some electorates achieved the 100 per cent integrity level, others were as low as 20 per cent.
Chief Ombudsman Michael Dick said the integrity of the election outcome depended so much on the integrity of the election process itself.
Dick said the poor performance of women candidates in the last election was due to the integrity of the election process.
“Women can be better leaders than men and the thing we need to do is to improve on the integrity of the election process,” he said.
“If we had to improve on women candidates, we just need to improve on the integrity of the election process to achieve that.”