Referendum commission focused to ensure quality roll

THE Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) is working to ensure that the referendum roll is of sufficient quality and has integrity, chief Bougainville referendum commission officer Mauricio Claudio says.
Claudio said it was a big task in planning and executing a referendum of this sort, spanning the atolls, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea’s provinces and other countries. “It’s a balancing act.
“We need to include as many people as possible, but we also need to make sure that the progress is of sufficient quality,” he said.
“We need to ensure there’s sufficient integrity measures.
“We can’t just make it so open that integrity diminishes.
“We experienced, as a team, communication and resources challenges but we are doing the best we can in the context of the environment and the resources allocated.
“I think we’ve managed to achieve more than expected.”
Claudio said the BRC was aware that the electoral roll they adapted in phase one of registration was inconsistent.
“It’s generally acknowledged and we have witnessed this in previous PNG and Bougainville elections,” he said.
Claudio said the biggest step was to put together the roll.
“You may have heard of enrolment forms running out.
“That was due to the surge in interest, particularly on mainland PNG, because unlike in Bougainville, where we have sense of how many people we enrol, we didn’t have existing roll on the mainland,” he said.
“It is primarily a reflection of the great enthusiasm and engagement of Bougainvilleans.
“There is a strong desire to be included. But there’s, of course, significant challenges in enrolment.”
Enrolment will continue until Aug 16.