Douglas Tomuriesa, Pope Francis and James Marape

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  Opposition Leader Douglas Tomuriesa said he is disappointed and embarrassed over the way His Holiness Pope Francis was treated by Prime Minister James Marape over the last three-days during the Papal visit, and the lack of courtesy and respect shown by the Prime Minister. He said the Prime Minister continuously declares PNG as a ‘Christian country’ and prides himself on being a religious individual but he was surprised when the Pope was continuously snubbed by the PM over the weekend since the Pope’s arrival on Friday. “The Pope is the head of the Catholic church, the largest Christian church in the world and he is also a head of state. “PNG not only being a Christian country, but a country that prides itself as a ‘friend to all, enemy to none’, the PM should be according the Pope with the highest level of respect,” Tomuriesa said. The Opposition Leader pointed out that on Friday, the Prime Minister did not welcome the Pope at the airport, a tradition he had accorded to many othe...
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K230mil for roll verification

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Main Stories

THE cost of implementing a roll verification system in Papua New Guinea is around K230 million, according to acting Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai.
“This is a lot of money. But given past election records, it is (an) affordable cost,” Sinai said.
He said the 2012 general election cost close to K800 million.
He said the 2017 one cost around K400 million.
The cost covered the process from enrolment to polling.
“If we establish this system with a photo roll, we will spend less to maintain the roll in 2027,” Sinai said.
“This exercise can be rolled out in less than 12 months. But time is against us.
“If the funds are timely appropriated, I am sure and confident that we are technically ready to take it.
“We have had enough of the hijacking of elections and its results by bullying citizens.
“We start blaming the Electoral Commission, not knowing the truth involved when managing these activities.
“I wish to see people change for the better and take ownership in managing our election.” The biometric system has three parts:

  • DATA setting, enrolment of voter names;
  • VOTING; and,
  • COUNTING and result management.

Sinai hopes that the Government can find the funds to get the process started.
“I am establishing a platform to build and restore credibility back into the power of electing the best leaders using the election process with correct fundamentals of management such as the voters’ list,” he said.
He said the biometric system could restore confidence in a democratic election process in PNG, starting with a genuine list of voters.
“The biometric system may be the (system) to control and detect election robbery in PNG,” Sinai said.
“I shall soon outline number of changes taken on the management process as we endeavor to deliver a just, free, fair and credible election in 2022.”

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