Polling deadline to be extended

By SHIRLYN BELDEN
POLLING in some remote areas will be extended beyond the Friday scheduled deadline, according to Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen.
He said Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio had been made aware of the extension. The original general election schedule says all voting should end on July 6.
Trawen said adjustments to the polling schedule were inevitable because of the delays in the highlands and other provinces which were faced with logistical problems and adverse weather conditions.
“Polling will likely need to extend beyond July 6 and the governor-general has been made aware of this.
“In many remote areas, bad weather has played havoc on the original polling schedules confirmed
to adhere to the requirements to complete voting by July 6.”
Trawen said no province had completed all polling requirements. But most polling teams were now returning to the provincial headquarters after the completion of voting in their respective areas.
He also said counting for the National Capital District should begin today.
Counting in NCD could not start yesterday because the issue of the payment of allowances was yet to be resolved.
Polling in some parts of the country is almost complete and they are preparing for counting to begin.
Some had started. 
The counting period set by the PNGEC was three weeks.
Trawen yesterday said there were delays to polling in some places and schedules of logistics were being reworked to adjust for the changes.
However, many provinces and open electorates were now winding up polling.