State must find funds for by-elections

 IT is worrisome to hear that Electoral Commissioner An­­drew Trawen is doubtful about the successful completion of the impending by-elections in West Sepik and Goilala because of inadequate fund.

Trawen says he cannot guarantee the successful completion of the two by-elections if funding is released by the Department of Treasury on a piecemeal basis.

And he warned that both by-elections would be “total failures” if the funds were not released urgently. 

“I must emphasise that the Treasury Department must release the balance of the by-election funds as a matter of urgency, otherwise both by-elections will be total failures.”

It is understood that Treasury has released K2.5 million of K10 million for the West Sepik by-election and another K2.5 million of the K4.6 million for the Goilala Open by-election.

The funds released will be spent for awareness and training only, and will not cater for other election expenses such as paying of election officials and printing of ballot papers. 

Treasury has been war­ned; the balance of the funds must be released to the Electoral Commission immediately. Any delays beyond the May 14 issuing of the writs will have dire consequences.

The by-election in West Sepik is for the governor’s seat held previously by Amkat Mai, who was dismissed by the court of disputed returns. The Goilala Open seat was left vacant by Daniel Mona, who died early this year after an illness.

This is not the first time the electoral commissioner has rung the alarm bells on lack of funding for elections and related issues.

In 2013 Trawen warned of threats by service providers to disrupt the local level government (LLG) elections if the National Government did not release about K12 million owed by the commission from the 2012 national elections.

He said at the time that K50 million allocated by the Government for the LLG elections was insufficient.

The Electoral Commissioner had been pleading for another K30 million for the LLG elections and to settle the commission’s outstanding debts to service providers of the 2012 national elections. However, his request for additional funding fell on deaf ears in Waigani.

Will the Treasury Department heed his latest call and release the funds in time for the West Sepik and Goilala by-elections?

If they are not listening to the country’s most seasoned chief electoral officer then who will. There is no doubt that Trawen faces a real dilemma and needs urgent financial support from the Government. 

Without the balance of the funding, Trawen is adamant that the Electoral Commission will not be able to successfully complete the impending by-elections.

As Trawen has stated – the success of both by-elections depend on sufficient funding of of almost K15 million. 

Indeed, it would be wise of the Treasury Department to take heed of the electoral commissioner’s grave concerns and immediately release the balance of the funding to ensure the two by-elections are conducted successfully and without disruptions.

Trawen had warned time and again that financial prob­lems and disruptive actions by disgruntled service providers in certain parts of the country remained and required urgent attention from the Government.

He reported an incident in 2013 that should have sounded alarm bells in the corridors of Waigani. Service providers from 2012 national elections had forcefully closed a number of provincial electoral offices around the country demanding their outstanding payments. While Trawen has assured disgruntled service providers that their dues will eventually be settled, the simple fact remains that the Electoral Commission is still un­able to settle their debts without additional funding from the Government.

With the issuing of the writs for the West Sepik and Goilala by-elections just two weeks away, it is imperative that the Government take measures to ensure the polls are conducted without financial hindrances and other disruptions. 

Funding issues must be resolved immediately and if need be, additional funds must be provided to top up the Electoral Commission’s budget for the by-elections.

After all, the people of West Sepik and Goilala are entitled to have political representation in Parliament following the demise of their former governor and MP.