by Fabian Hakalits – EM TV, Port Moresby
Special voting service envelopes from ballot boxes for Bougainvilleans have been sorted out.
These envelopes contain ballot papers from polling centres around the country; from Goroka, Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul and Madang including special polling place across the autonomous region.
The sorting of the envelopes was witnessed by Acting Bougainville Electoral Commissioner, George Manu, international observers and scrutineers.
Ballot boxes were opened, envelopes extracted and sorted by region and constituencies. They were then placed inside boxes, sealed, then transported under police escort to their respective regional counting centres, before counting resumes on the 26th of this month.
Mr Manu said: “No ballot papers will be extracted, examined or counted during the special voting service sorting process.”
Mr Manu, in a media statement, added that this was to increase opportunity for Bougainvilleans residing in other provinces of Papua New Guinea to cast their votes.
The special voting service is an initiative of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner’s office, for the region’s third general elections.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vi4YVBnmLT4%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
