The leader of Papua New Guinea’s National Party says that without an explanation about the use of extra ballot papers the electoral commissioner, Patilias Gamato, is complicit in election fraud. Kerenga Kua is set to retain his seat in Sinasina-Yonggamugl and his party is tracking strongly in various electorates where results are yet to be declared. However, as vote counting advanced at a glacial pace across PNG, Mr Kua said the election had been fraught with inconsistencies which appeared to favour the ruling People’s National Congress party. Ommissions of names from PNG’s electoral roll has been a feature of previous PNG elections, but the problem has been widespread in this year’s edition and appears to have disadvantaged key voter bases.
There are also claims the Electoral Commission created nearly 300,000 ‘ghost voters’ in PNC-controlled electorates, allowing for more instances of double voting and ballot fraud.
According to Mr Kua, the Electoral Commission had printed many extra ballot papers in excess of the number of voters on the roll. “The Electoral Commissioner knows a lot more than he’s letting on,” Mr Kua said.
Full Article: PNG election chief described as complicit in fraud | Radio New Zealand News.
