Usino-Bundi by-election campaigning extend as polling set for July 21

Candidates contesting the Usino-Bundi by-election have until Sunday, July 20, to campaign, with polling now scheduled for Monday, July 21.

Provincial Returning Officer for Madang, Sponsa Navi, confirmed the extension of the campaign period following the deferral of polling.

Mr. Navi said preparations for polling and counting are progressing well despite financial challenges.

He announced that the Madang Provincial Government has approved K1.5 million in counterpart funding for the by-election. Of this amount, K500,000 will support police operations to ensure election security, while the remaining K1 million is allocated for logistics and operational costs.

However, election officials said this afternoon that the funds are yet to be released by the Provincial Treasury Office.

In the meantime, K200,000 provided earlier by the Electoral Commission has already been used for training Assistant Returning Officers, polling officials, and transporting materials to the district.

Officials said that the remaining funds are insufficient to run the actual election.