LLG polling deferred to prioritise national exams: Rosso
Acting Prime Minister John Rosso has confirmed that the National Examination dates for Grades 8, 10 and 12 will proceed as scheduled, while polling for the Local Level Government (LLG) elections has been deferred to October 25.
Rosso said the decision followed three days of high-level meetings with electoral stakeholders to address concerns that the elections might disrupt students preparing for their exams.
“Over the past three days I have convened a series of meetings involving key electoral stakeholders to consider how best to mitigate and respond to citizen concerns about the impact the forthcoming Local-level Government elections may have on students sitting the national exams,” Rosso said.
The examination schedule remains unchanged:
- Grade 10 exams: October 6–10
- Grade 12 exams: October 13–17
- Grade 8 exams: October 20–24
Polling for the LLG elections will commence immediately after, on October 25, 2025.
Rosso stressed that the government’s decision balances the dual priorities of safeguarding students’ education while ensuring the constitutional requirement of holding LLG elections is fulfilled.
“This decision was not made lightly. However, it reflects our Government’s commitment to safeguarding the education of our children while also fulfilling the important constitutional requirement of conducting LLG elections,” he said.
The Acting Prime Minister commended the Electoral Commission for agreeing to defer polling despite being in an advanced state of readiness, saying it was a responsible move in the national interest.
“The Electoral Commissioner has considered citizen and government concerns, and has graciously agreed to exercise his constitutional powers to delay the commencement of polling in the interests of our future generations and to prevent disturbance of the national exams. I commend him for this,” Rosso said.
He added that the government had also taken into account legal advice from the State Solicitor and the Department of Justice and Attorney General, with a technical team now tasked to address related matters under the Chief Secretary’s direction.
The Electoral Commissioner is expected to release revised polling, counting, and writ return dates in due course.