Return of writs: Aug 12

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THE return of writs for the General Election 2022 (GE22) has been extended by two weeks to Friday, Aug 12, at 4pm.
Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae yesterday accepted a request by Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai to extend the deadline from July 29 to Aug 12.
It will allow time for counting to be concluded properly, and for the winners of the 118 provincial and open seats to be declared.
Sir Bob said in a statement yesterday: “It would be impossible to complete all counting by Friday (July 29) so I accept the extension by 14 days to Aug 12 at 4pm.
“The extension will save time and resources and (to) avoid a failed election which will be costly if we were to start all over again.”
Sir Bob also recommended that:

  • EVERYONE learns from the GE22, prepare for and conduct a better general election in 2027;
  • THE election process should start as early as 2023;
  • THE Electoral Commission gets its finances and manpower resources sorted out early; and,
  • THE biometric system be introduced, or other similar technology, so that once a vote is cast, it is automatically tallied and stored and declarations can be made precisely and immediately.

“This way we avoid all the problems we have witnessed in this election – the hijacking of boxes, disputes and delays in counting and violence,” Sir Bob said.
“A number of people have lost their lives from election-related violence.
“It is very unfortunate and should not have happened at all.”
Sinai said 18 winners of the 118 seat contested had been declared so far.
Counting for the remaining 100 is in progress.
He said election officials were now working on a 24-hour shift to speed up counting.
Sinai told Sir Bob that the GE22 exercise was delayed right from the beginning, mainly because of financial constraints.
In addition, the death of Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil also put everything off by one week.
He also blamed logistics and the election officials failing to turn up on time at their designated areas which slowed down the polling process.
Sinai also defended the extension of the Return of Writs, saying it was still within “the fifth anniversary of the day fixed for the return of writs for the previous general election”.
“The extension of time seeks to avoid a failed election and is also intended to provide time to allow all the writs to be returned accordingly,” he said.
Sir Bob also expressed concern about the recent spate of violence in Port Moresby, Enga and Markham and Kabwum in Morobe.
He urged the people to refrain from inciting violence, fighting and the destruction of properties.
“I am appealing to everyone to refrain from violence and allow the process to complete in an orderly and peaceful manner,” he said.