By WASITA ROYAL
A new political chapter has begun in Gazelle District, East New Britain, with the official declaration of the first presidents for the newly separated Livuan and Reimber Local Level Governments (LLGs).
This ends over two decades of amalgamation and marks the start of independent governance for both areas.
The split of the former Livuan Reimber LLG was finalized with two electoral battles.
In Reimber LLG, Benedict Warvakai emerged as the pioneer president who was declared yesterday securing 1,208 votes, convincingly surpassing the required absolute majority of 1,130. He defeated a field of seven other candidates, with his closest rivals being Emos Malalia (607 votes) and Henry Vainak (443 votes).
In Livuan LLG, Saliken Ikilik was elected president after a tightly contested count that extended into today where its race narrowed to Ikilik and John Potol after the exclusion of the former leader, Sam Piniau. A distribution of Piniau’s 644 votes gave Ikilik 77 votes, boosting his tally to 1,127 and pushing him over the absolute majority of 1,033. His opponent, John Potol, collected 45 of those votes, finishing with a total of 915.
Assistant Returning Officer Orim Popon closed the Livuan counting, confirming the result as “the voice of the people.” This simultaneous election of Presidents Warvakai and Ikilik formally starts the new political journey for both LLGs, which will now operate independently after more than 20 years as a single entity.