Students need commission’s backing

By GIBSON TORASO
UPNG journalism student
UNIVERSITY of Papua New Guinea students associations from the Highlands region are asking when the Electoral Commission will fund an awareness programme it promised to do last year.
Jiwaka Students Association president Josephet O’Hara said commission officials led by John Watmelik had conducted a workshop last year at the university and had promised the students they would fund an awareness campaign in a bid to ensure a fair and free election.
He said those officials took the student associations bank account numbers but had not made any money available for the campaign.
They said that soon it would be time for them to return to classes.
“We are willing to educate and give what we can to our parents and people in Jiwaka for a free and fair election but we need logistics and funding to effectively deliver the message,” O’Hara said.
He urged the commission to make the funds available soon because the people needed to be educated and told about the election and the laws governing them before going to the polls in July.
A member from the Wapenamanda Students’ Association, Langa Kopio, expressed the same concern, saying UPNG students were still waiting for the funds to be released for the election awareness campaigns.
“We waited for the funds for a long time to carry out the awareness and now it’s almost time for the students to go back to school.
“We are ready to educate our people but we need backing,” Kopio said.
He claimed his association had spent more than K10,000 on several occasions to organise airfares for the self-sponsored students, printing T-shirts and organising the launching of the awareness.
He assured those who supported his group the association would carry out its awareness towards the end of this month.
Both said students were fast losing confidence in the commission.