Polling days questioned

TWO regional candidates from Southern Highlands and Hela want Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai to reconsider his decision for the two provinces and Enga to go for polling on separate dates.
People’s National Congress (PNC) party endorsed Hela regional candidate Francis Potape on Friday. He said the decision by Sinai will create chaos and double voting that might lead to a failed election.
He was supported by pro-PNC Southern Highlands regional candidate Peter Nupiri.
“There will be double voting by people living between the borders of the three provinces if they go for polling on separate dates as set by the Electoral Commission (EC).
“Hela and Southern Highlands were once a province and divided in 2012, we are still sister provinces and one.
“We have extended families living on either side between the borders and we cannot let people vote on separate dates as they will vote twice,” he said.
Potape said their history of election-related violence and roadblocks along the national highway and divisions between family members.
He said Hela and SHP were supposed to go for polling on July 7, but was changed and Hela would be on July 4, Enga 7 and SHP on 11.
He said he believed that the majority of the candidates for this election would agree for a single day polling.

Pascoe driven by workforce discrimination to run for office

NATIONAL Capital District (NCD) regional candidate Sylvia Pascoe says that overcoming discrimination in the workforce has motivated her to run for public office.
The 36-year-old single mother, labelled her experiences as fuel to want to provide this city with better services, safety and opportunities and delivering all these through honesty, integrity and empathy.
Her mother, from New Ireland and father from Australia, met in Goroka before the country’s independence.
Her father worked as a journalist and her mother was a teacher.
Born and raised in Port Moresby, she said she had a good life because the cost of living was not as exorbitant, her parents were able to get a housing loan and paid it off in 10 years.
“Back then in the ‘70s, if you wanted to buy a house, it was K70,000, today those same houses are going between K1.2 million and K2.4 million. What will it be in five to 10 years’ time when your children are looking for a roof over their heads,” she asked.
Upon completion of high school, she went looking for work but everywhere she went, she was discriminated against for being a young woman.
“You women, you know the struggle of what it’s like when you’re looking for a job; they’ll either say you have no experience or ask if you have a boyfriend or partner who will be causing problems.
“We are the hardest (group) to give a job to and I went through that,” she said.