Bougainville. Papua New Guinea press review

Counting for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s (ARB) fourth election has begun on the 7th of September 2020, Bougainville Electoral Commissioner George Manu says. According to Commissioner, counting for South and Central Bougainville commenced on the 7th of September and in North Bougainville on the 8th of September and presidential ballots to follow after. The counting centre will operate 24 hours with staff working in four shifts of six hours at respective count centres. According to Mr. Manu, the sorting process had been orderly, accurate and transparent with candidate scrutineers, international and local observers coming through the count centres to check every step of the process. [1]

At the same time, there have been disputes in north Bougainville over some of the procedures for the election vote count which is now underway, because all the votes for the presidential election, for which there were 25 candidates, are being counted in Buka. Some candidates had objected to the way the votes were moved from their initial collection point, at the Buka police station, to the counting centre and feared the falsifications. Anyway, ARB President John Momis, called for people to be calm and to remember the ultimate goal for which Bougainvilleans had been fighting for many years – independence. [2]

It’s expected that Bougainville will announce the name of new ARB President on September 16. [3]

After counting 25% from ballot boxes from the Baba Constituency former Bougainville Revolutionary Army Commander Ishmael Toroama take the lead as counting for the Bougainville general elections pick momentum, trailing behind him is former president James Tanis and Fr Simon Dumarinu. [4]

The schedule for consultations on the outcome of Bougainville’s independence referendum will be set in November 2020, Papua New Guinea’s parliament has heard. Minister for Bougainville Affairs, Sir Puka Temu said that when a new government was formed in the Autonomous Region under a new president, consultations would be able to recommence. [5] [1] https://www.thenational.com.pg/bville-counting-begins/
[2] https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/425215/bougainvilleans-called-on-to-respect-rule-of-law-amid-vote-count
[3] https://www.thenational.com.pg/president-known-on-wed/
[4] https://postcourier.com.pg/ishmael-toroama-leads-the-primary-counts-for-bougainville/
[5] https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/425660/bougainville-referendum-talks-to-be-set-in-november
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