(PRESS STATEMENT)
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has expressed concern about the way the 2022 General Election is going so far around the country.
PM Marape expressed his concern today (July 7 2022) in his electorate of Tari-Pori, Hela, where counting will start tomorrow (July 8 2022).
“Our preparations and logistics were slow,” said the Prime Minister, who observed this first-hand in his hometown of Tari on Monday (July 4 2022) when he voted.
“The Common Roll was not adequately prepared, as I told the media on Monday, in my own village after I voted.
“There was a drop of about 800 names from the Common Roll in my village.”
PM Marape said the 2027 General Election would be a top priority of the new Government to be formed after the 2022 General Election.
“My commitment to the nation, if Pangu Pati is invited to form the next Government, is to review the entire election process,” he said.
“We will review what happened in the 2022 General Election, as well as take stock of what happened in 2017 and earlier.
“I will be proposing that a proper National Census be conducted in 2023, which will be the basis for the Common Roll, and that we also migrate to bio-metric voter registration and electronic voting for 2027.
“We will be looking at having a review immediately after the 2022 General Election, and have a 2023 National Budget allocation for the National Census, bio-metric voter registration and electronic voting.
“A National Census is fundamentally importantly as proper population data gives us the basis to plan properly for the country.
“The census will also be important to the Electoral Commission to start planning at the earliest for the 2027 General Election.”
PM Marape sincerely apologised to all the people through Papua New Guinea who did not have their names in the Common Roll in the 2022 General Election.
“We’ve advised the Electoral Commission that our people, so long as they are adults and have voted in 2017 or earlier, should be allowed their Section 50 right to vote for the candidate of their choice,” he said.
“No-one should be turned away at the polls.
“I can assure the nation that we will attend to all the election deficiencies as a matter of priority after the 2022 General Election.
“Before the Local Level Government (LLG) Election, in 2024, things should be a lot better in preparation for 2027.”
