THE PNG Electoral Commission is working to introduce the use of voter identification card in the 2027 general elections and beyond.
This means electors will have to produce photo id cards that must match the photo on the photo electoral roll before you are issued a ballot paper to cast your vote.
In a statement Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai stated that: “It’s all about protecting and maintaining election integrity. This is the first step towards introducing a series of electoral reforms aimed at protecting our democracy and the electoral processes,” Sinai said.
“The Photo Electoral Roll will address long standing roll issues like inflated rolls with ghost names. It will eliminate so-called block voting, tribal voting and repeat voting by same voter. It is also aimed at restoring integrity in the electoral roll, so if you have been relying on the inflated roll with ghost names, those days are over once the Photo Electoral Roll is established.
Mr Sinai both headquarter staff and provincial election managers have been holding series of workshops in the past few months trying to firm up roles and responsibilities of key divisions within the organization that will spearhead the specifics of the new photo electoral roll or the voter id project.
The Policy Division has been tasked to work on the overall policy framework which entails a broader, overarching structure that provides guidelines and principles for creating, implementing and managing individual policies.
“The policy framework establishes the general approach, strategic direction, and fundamental laws within which policies will be developed and applied,” Mr Sinai said.
He said individual policies will be developed by ICT and Training Divisions in setting out the processes and procedures, and the training of people who will be required to implement the project out in the provinces.
“This will be a major policy shift for the Electoral Commission to introduce a Voter Identification card and it will be the first major change in the electoral management system since independence, so we need to have in place a policy framework that captures and provides baste guidelines and principles for creating and managing individual policies within the organization,” he said.
Mr Sinai said the ICT branch will work on the system and procedural manual that will set out the specifics, step by step processes and procedures that will be required at the time of enrolment, while the training division will work on the training manual for those who will be working and supporting the electoral commission to implement the project.
Mr Sinai challenged all election managers and their assistants at a workshop held in Port Moresby this week to get prepared to implement the new enrolment strategy which will be applied starting next year.
“It is a massive task and we need every help we can get to successfully implement this project. This is a government business and now is the time to find the money to fund this project because we cannot leave it till late,” he said.
Mr Sinai appealed to all councilors, community leaders and village chiefs to proactively participate and work with the electoral staff in their respective council wards to ensure success of this project.
The electoral commission staff in the provinces will be using the existing roll to identify and issue voter identification cards and register voters under the photo electoral roll and use same process to enroll new voters who have turned 18 years after the 2022 general elections.
