April 4, 2022
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
A PRE-ELECTION assessment team from the Commonwealth Secretariat is in Port Moresby to assess the Electoral Commission’s preparedness to conduct the 2022 National General Election (NGE).
The three observers based in London, United Kingdom are also here to meet with other stake holders such as the media to find out if the common roll is updated and fully prepared.
In their 2017 observers report they have expressed disappointment in the commission’s ill-preparedness in updating the common roll prior to the election.
They are now here to find out if the common roll is updated for the election.
They are also here to find out if there were improvements on recommendations that they have outlined in their observation report of the 2017 national election.
And based on their assessment, they will advise the Commonwealth Secretariat for a team of observers to return to observe the 2022 election.
Election Observers Advisor and Head of Electoral Support Section Governance and Peace Directorate Linford Andrews said:
“This is a pre-election assessment mission and it is customary that the Commonwealth is expecting an invitation in an election of a member country and that we conduct a pre-election assessment election with the number of objectives. First one is to meet a wide range of stake holders to establish whether there is broad support for the deployment of a commonwealth observer for the election. If the broad support is there, the second reason is to establish if our observers will have access to all aspect of the electoral process. And that is in accordance to the standard terms of reference of which we operate. The third reason for our visits is to conduct an assessment of the ongoing preparations of the election by the electoral commission and all the stake holders and also to assess the prevailing of political environment and to pick up any issues and challenges also of the anything positive in the election process. We will also be taking some preliminary arrangements for logistics and operational in our planning.”
