Voting in Komo starts today

 By JAMES APA GUMUNO

POLLING in the Komo-Magarima district of Hela will get underway today and end on Wednesday.

Hela provincial police commander Supt Jimmy Onopia said polling in the Tari-Pori electorate began last Thursday and was completed on Saturday.

Onopia said there were minor disturbances at some polling booths but that did not stop the people from casting their vote.

He said a “minor” tribal fight at Hedemari last Friday, about 18km from Tari town, was not related to the local level government elections.

He said the Electoral Commission had allocated three days each for polling in the three electorates in Hela.

“When the people of Komo-Magarima complete polling on Wednesday, polling teams and security personnel will move to Koroba-Kopiago to conduct the election,” he said.

Onopia, who is the provincial election steering committee chairman, said polling in Koroba-Kopiago would start on Thursday and end on Saturday.

He said the counting would be done in district headquarters, but venues would change depending on the situation on the ground.

“If we feel that there are security threats on the ground in one particular district, we will shift the venue of the counting to a safe place,” he said.

Onopia urged the people of Komo-Magarima to respect the electoral process and go into polls peacefully like the people of Tari-Pori.

He said security personnel would ensure that peace and order were maintained during the polling.