Polling in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been hampered by reports of disruptions and voters being left off the electoral roll, but the head of an international election observer group yesterday said there was no evidence they were deliberate.
The two-week long election to decide who is to lead the resource-rich South Pacific nation began on Monday last week, pitting 3,332 candidates from 44 political parties against each other for a place in the 111-seat legislature.
However, reports of problems at voting booths and allegations of ballot fraud have soured the mood among some in a nation that has a history of electoral violence and corruption.
Photo: AP
“There has clearly been problems ... but to be fair, in our observation, the government has endeavored to address these,” Commonwealth observer group chairman Sir Anand Satyanand said by telephone.
Problems with this year’s electoral roll have meant that the 2012 roll was being used in some areas, preventing some people from casting votes.
Logistical issues, poor transportation links and bad weather had disrupted voting in other parts of the country.
Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who is in a strong position to retain power, has rejected accusations by opposition politicians that he is to blame for the election issues.
“The electoral roll is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission and is independent,” he said yesterday in a statement. “Failed leaders can make any claim they like, but they never back this up with proof.”
Satyanand said he had seen no evidence to suggest the issues were planned.
Despite its mineral wealth, which includes Exxon Mobil’s US$20 billion liquefied natural gas plant, most of the nation’s nearly 8 million people live at subsistence level on islands, atolls and in remote mountain village.
The rugged terrain and poor infrastructure make holding an election difficult and expensive, Australian National University associate professor and Melanesia expert Sinclair Dinnen said.
“The larger background is that the funding to the Electoral Commission was cut back this time because of the fiscal crisis in [Papua New Guinea], and that too has led to problems,” Dinnen said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese