Polling for Dei Open Electorate in Western Highlands Province will not be held today as expected due to security concerns, acting PNG Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi says.
Mrs Vagi said Dei polling has been deferred to Wednesday ) 21st January).
She, however, said in a media statement this morning that the other polling for New Ireland Provincial By-Election will go ahead today as planned.
“Dei polling is due to rising security concerns in the Electorate which requires careful collaboration between key stakeholders to ensure a successful by-election.
“Our PNGEC staff on the ground and polling officials worked on Sunday to complete the training and address remaining issues for polling on Wednesday,” she said.
Acting Commissioner Vagi appealed again to all candidates and supporters to uphold the rule of law and treat this by-election as an opportunity to elect their member.
She also appealed to scrutineers to ensure that they only observe and not interfere with the election process.
The acting commissioner and deputy commissioner Corporate Services are expected to travel to Kavieng today after strong winds and no fuel in Kokopo saw the Air Niugini flight return to Port Moresby on Sunday.
“Today’s polling will include the roll out of the Photo Roll exercise in Kavieng Urban LLG (KULLG) only. The exercise aims to confirm voter identity and capture NID numbers for those in the KULLG who are on the 2025 electoral roll and have NID cards.
“Heavy rains and winds the whole of last week caused some delays but teams were working the entire weekend to ensure all was on track for the one-day polling today.”