THE election officials from the ward 8 and 11 areas of the Port Moresby North-West electorate have raised complaints on the overall coordination of the counting officials in the counting venue.
Counting for the two areas held at the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex has resulted in another delay yesterday as counting officials undergo training in preparation for the official count today.
Respective presiding officers (POs) and scrutineers that were there to officiate the counting were advised to wait outside as preparation for the counting venue took place.
There were concerns raised regarding the two different groups of counting officials which was said to assist in the counting process.
One of the presiding officers (POs) who does not want to be named said that the officers in charge of the counting have brought in another set of trained POs that have never being present during the polling to officiate the counting.
“It is understood that the same POs will officiate the counting through all process of elimination and to complete the count.
“They said to let us do the elimination count, after we do that, they said to get rid of us and put the ones that they trained on Wednesday and Thursday last week to do the counting.
“To our understanding, this is completely wrong, the setting has never been observed in the general elections,” he said.
He added that the kind of coordination set by the electoral officers in charge will raise suspicious and doubts on the general conduct of the election and it does not promote transparency in the election process.
While responding to their concerns, the Returning Officer (RO) for the Ward 8 and 11, Desmond Timiyaso has clarified that an open opportunity was given to everyone to assist in the counting.
“We are trying to be fair in the counting, giving opportunity to others to assist in the counting,” he said.
Training for the counting officials was held yesterday afternoon. A total of 90 officials with 30 from each ward 1, 8 and 11 were present to undergo the training.
Mr. Timiyaso further clarified on the counting allowances stating that all allowances for the election officials will be made once their account details are fixed.