Commonwealth Secretariat Observer Group to observe PNG Elections

 The Commonwealth Secretariat will be sending a Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) to PNG, to observe the conduct of the 2022 National Election.

The observer group will comprise of 10 members, from a wide range of sectors, and will be headed by the former Nauruan President, His Excellency, Baron Waqa. 

The COG will arrive in the country on the 28th of June, 2022, and will stay until the completion of the entire electoral process. 

Gregory Moses reports...

Commonwealth Secretary General Honorable Patricia Scotland QC, selected the group, which will be supported by a team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Linford Andrews, who is the Head of the Electoral Support Section of the Secretariat.

This deployment was preceded by a pre-election assessment team, which was sent to the country in March 2022. 

Secretary General Scotland, says that she is happy to see Papua New Guinean's resolve and commitment in holding the election despite the many challenges, it is currently faced with, in conducting the 2022 National Election.

She says that the deployment of the observer group, demonstrates the Commonwealth's commitment to supporting electoral democracy in member countries, and the recognition of the right of individuals to participate in the democratic process, by voting in a credible, inclusive and transparent election, that shape their societies

Secretary General Scotland also says that they will be deployed throughout the country, and are required to provide an independent assessment of the electoral process, by working together with the people and government of PNG.

She adds that the group will be observing and considering all the aspects of the electoral process, from opening of polling until the declarations, and determine whether the elections are conducted in line with the democratic standards, to which PNG has committed itself.

The Observer Group will be led by the former President of Nauru, His Excellency Baron Waqa, while its other members are, Dr, Nicole George, a Queensland University Lecturer and Researcher, Editor of the Pacific Islands News Association in Fiji, Makereta Komai, Assistant Vice Chancellor of the Victoria University of Wellington, Dame Winifred Laban, and Deputy Returning Officer of the Electoral Commission of Samoa, Makereta Va'aelua.

The other members who will make up the team are Hendrick Gappy, Seychelles Electoral Commission's former Chairman, Honorable Peter Kenilorea Jnr, who is a Member of Parliament, and the Foreign Relations Committee Chairman of Solomon Islands, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) Chief Executive Officer, Johnson Honimae, Pacific Islands Association of Non Governmental Organizations Executive Director Emeline Siale Ilolahia, and Vanuatu's Balance of Power Country Manager, Wilson Toa.

The group will be issuing an interim statement of its preliminary observations after the election, when they return to Port Moresby, and later present a final report with recommendations, to the Government of PNG and the Electoral Commission to help improve future elections in PNG, thereafter.

The COG will be in the country at the invitation of the PNG Electoral Commission.

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