by Martin Haffner Associate Editor
Transparency International in Papua New Guinea has expressed its fear another electoral disaster is on the way for PNG.
The watchdog group was commenting on the lack of action to date to remedy the electoral failings in the election of 2022 and other earlier polls.
The poor electoral process in 2022 has been identified as a key catalyst for what has been called the worst election related violence ever seen in PNG.
TIPNG has observed the election process over 2 decades and the verdict is the management and conduct of the polls are severely flawed.
It said there have been significant failures in all stages of the election process from preparation, conduct, delivery, and declaration.
In 2022, TIPNG identified glaring inaccuracies and anomalies in the electoral roll, a lack of enforcement against election offences, non-adherence to the constitutional requirements, constant disruptions during ballot counting, chaos during the declaration of certain seats, widespread election-related violence and the proliferation of guns.
A Special Parliamentary Committee set up just after the poll in 2022 outlined 70 recommendations to parliament a year ago but they are still to be debated by MPs.
The chair of TIPNG Peter Aitsi said “there is a five-year electoral planning cycle, and it must be adequately supported year on year. The issues of 2022 cannot be resolved with last minute fixes, we are now 2 years away from 2027, what are we doing to protect and rebuild this crucial democratic pillar?”
“What is the Electoral Commissioner and the Government going to do? The numerous problems we faced in 2022 elections and past elections should be a wake-up call for our nation’s leaders and administrators, we need genuine and serious action now”, added Aitsi.
TIPNG said a sign of the lack of priority is that the recent 2025 Budget did not up its allocation to the Electoral Commission.
It said the Commission is still not being allocated the essential resources it needs in non-election years to adequately prepare for the upcoming election.
This lack of funding will undermine the Electoral Commission’s preparations and presents a serious threat to the integrity and effectiveness of the 2027 elections.
