ISSUES RELATING TO THE ELECTORAL ROLL – A STATEMENT BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER

MEDIA STATEMENT 

ISSUES RELATING TO THE ELECTORAL ROLL – A STATEMENT BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER

There has been a significant amount of media attention over recent weeks about the Electoral Roll.  I wish to make a number of points today about some of the claims made.

First, as Electoral Commissioner I must take full responsibility for the quality of the Roll.  As such I am not going to try to blame others.  We do our best within the constraints we face; we faithfully record the information we are given from the field and enter that into our database; we produce a Preliminary Roll which we make available for public inspection and modify the Roll based on feedback received.  If the information we get from the field is inadequate, then the resulting Roll is also not as good as it should be.

The enrolment system in PNG relies heavily on all the actors involved to do the right thing.  As I have said many times before it is very difficult to produce a Roll with the highest level of accuracy and integrity when some people are prepared to go to any length to corrupt the process.  This includes signing false declarations and actively committing fraud to reduce the integrity of the Roll in a variety of different ways.  We have found evidence of deliberate actions by some to remove names, add names and modify the status of persons on the Roll.  Once we have completed our enquiries I will refer these matters to the Police.

I think it is important for us all to remember that the Electoral Roll in 2007 contained 3.98 million names.  The Electoral Roll for 2012 contained more than 4.87 million names.  This means nearly 900,000 names have been added, well above the Census projections for those who are of voting age and above, and yet there are still claims that many people are not on the Roll.  Despite our efforts it seems clear that the Improvement Program we began for the Roll in September 2011 contains many names on the Roll for people who are deceased, multiple names and ghost names are still a major problem, people who have moved from one Ward to another are still on the old Roll.  Fictitious names are still a major concern. 

There have been allegations of names appearing on a Preliminary Roll but not on the Final Certified Roll for that Ward.  As the public, candidates and media have quite rightly observed, this should not happen.  The Electoral Commission has so far had limited information to check these matters, relying mostly on information provided by the media.  For the few it has received adequate information the persons concerned are on the Roll.

The Electoral Commission sincerely apologises to any person who properly enrolled but whose name was not found on the Roll when they went to vote.  Upon hearing of these examples the Commission immediately reminded all officials of the need to thoroughly check the Rolls and any reference Rolls available eg. for NCD, checking alternative spellings, maiden names, reversal of first name and last name etc.  Only after thorough checks should polling officials advise intending voter that their name cannot be found.

The Commission advises that anyone who finds themselves in this position should make contact with the Election Manager in their area to obtain an Application for Enrolment Form, and fill it in so they are on the Roll for 2017.

The Electoral Commission has invested heavily in advertising for the 2012 General Election, certainly more so than in 2007.  Based on survey information it is clear that voters are more aware of LPV, democracy and good governance, how-to-vote, offences including multiple voting and the use of indelible ink etc.

There are a number of lessons to learn, including the fact that data collection for the Census and enrolment for the General Election should be further apart.  It is becoming increasingly clear that some thought they had enrolled to vote when actually completed their Census questionnaire.  The Application for Enrolment Form is a 2 page form whereas the Census questionnaire is a multi-page multi-question form.

I am pleased that large numbers of people have been able to vote, and that their voting experience has been a positive one however I am keen to undertake a post-election survey, across all Provinces if possible, to determine the public’s level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

I am also wanting to undertake a post-election assessment of all aspects of the Electoral Roll.  That assessment would include submissions from the public, candidates and political parties, civil society organisations, the media, observers and other stakeholders.  The aim of the review will be to assess how we might be able to compile a better quality Roll for use in elections in PNG in the future, ensuring we continue to try to improve our electoral system.

APPROVED FOR RELEASE

ANDREW S. TRAWEN, CMG, MBE

ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER

Friday, 29 June 2012