Polling starts in Jimi district of Jiwaka

POLLING in Jiwaka’s Jimi district began yesterday after 60 teams were deployed from Tabibuga and Kol sub-districts, an elections official said.
Returning officer Andrew Mak said in Banz yesterday because of remote locations and delays in getting the polling teams out, voting was likely to continue today.
Mak said road access to many polling stations was poor and helicopters had to be used to transport polling officials and security personnel to their respective stations.
“In some polling areas, we only send presiding officers and their assistant without polling clerks.”
Mak said polling was supposed to be conducted in North and South Waghi districts on Tuesday but only started yesterday because polling teams had to wait at Karap to pick up polling materials.
He said security personnel accompanied ballot boxes and papers to Tabibuga and Kol, the two gazetted areas to dispatch polling teams.
But polling officials had to walk to Tabibuga and Kol to pick up their material, resulting in the loss of a day.
Mak said he had received unconfirmed reports that at Senga, a presiding officer marked all ballot papers in an isolated area and that at Munil rest house, a presiding officer was kidnapped.
He said if he confirmed the two reports, ballot boxes coming from these two rest houses would not be counted.
He said after polling, all ballot boxes would be transported by helicopters to Banz.