Extraction of ballot boxes for Kabwum by-election continues today
Electoral officials in Morobe Province will continue the extraction of ballot boxes from Kabwum district today, for the district’s Supreme Court-ordered by-election.
Today’s extraction efforts will focus on retrieving boxes from Yus Local Level Government [LLG], the last of Kabwum’s four LLGs.
A total of twenty [20] ballot boxes were successfully airlifted into Lae yesterday and were locked away in containers at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.
This included six [6] ballot boxes from the Selepet LLG, six [6] from the Komba LLG and eight [8] ballot boxes from the Deyamos LLG.
Upon arrival, the Assistant Returning Officers [AROs] from each LLG read out the serial numbers on the ballot boxes, while candidate scrutineers and counting officials witnessed the process and recorded the details for verification, as instructed by Returning Officer [RO] James Neapukali.
Speaking to NBC News, the Morobe Elections Manager Simon Soheke said, the extraction is progressing well despite Manolos Aviation also conducting parallel flight operations for the Usino-Bundi by-election in Madang.
“All ballot boxes are expected to be flown into Lae before the weekend. Polling ended without any major incidents, according to reports from our polling officials and security teams on the ground,” he said.
He added that preparations for the counting process are well underway at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.
“Counting should begin on Monday or Tuesday next week, immediately after a boxing tournament at the venue wraps up this weekend. We are working towards declaring a member-elect for Kabwum District before the 7th of August,” he said.
The Kabwum by-election was ordered by the Supreme Court, after the Electoral Commission’s decision to announce a local member under ‘Special Circumstance’ was nullified, following the burning of its ballot papers by supporters of candidates in the 2022 National Elections.
The district has been without a parliament representative for two and a half years as a result.
