Incumbent NCD Governor, Powes Parkop has retained the NCD Regional seat after a nail-biting final exclusion which saw 2nd runner-up, Wari Vele. 47,008 votes were distributed amongst the remaining 2 candidates, Andy Bawa, and the incumbent governor. After the distribution it was clear that Parkop was the victor, beating Bawa by a 20,919 vote difference. Parkop polled 78,566, while Bawa fell short with just 57,647. The absolute majority to reach was 68,481, a total number of formal ballot papers counted 203, 988 with the total number of exhausted papers adding up to 76,027. A defeated but grateful runner-up, Andy Bawa made himself available to congratulate the incumbent governor, Powes Parkop yesterday afternoon, after he fell short at the conclusion of the final exclusion. Speaking at the declaration ceremony, Bawa congratulated the governor, stating that it was a hard-fought victory. “I want to congratulate the governor-elect again. This election has not been an easy one, it’s been a long hard-fought victory,” Bawa said. Bawa added that they had fought the hard fight, with extensions and deferrals stating that NCD holds a new record for the longest election period in the history of the country. Even though defeated fair and squarely, he pledged his full support for the re-elected NCD Governor. He also urges the governor to take action and make sure that he implements his policies to help enable the people to thrive in the city. Bawa also stated that should he not fulfill his promises, he will be ready to stand up and contest again in the 2027 NGE. “In 2017, I came second, in 2022 I came second again, but not bad. We fought a good fight, a good battle. If there is the next ride in 2027, we hope we can come back better next time,” He said.

Electoral Commissioner Mr. Simon Sinai Thursday, 25th August 2022 declared William Powi as Governor for Southern Highlands Province at the Electoral Commission head office. Powi was declared after the electoral commissioner invoked Section 175, Subsection (1) under Part 16 of the Organic law [Return of Writs]. Under Section 175, it states (1) The Returning Officer shall, as soon as conveniently may be after the result of an election has been ascertained: (a) at the place of nomination or any other place appointed by the Returning Officer, publicly declare the result of the election and the name of the candidate elected; and (b) by endorsement under his hand certify on the writ the name of the candidate elected, and return the writ through the Electoral Commission to the Head of State who shall then forward all the writs to the Speaker of the Parliament. The commissioner, using the power vested in his position, declared Powi under special conditions. Prior to the QC, Powi polled 98, 836 votes, that’s 8,323 votes clear of second-placed Peter Nupiri, who polled 90,513 votes. After polling, out 656 boxes distributed for Southern Highlands, only 653 were returned to Mendi for counting. 17 ballot boxes for the Kagua-Erave District were set aside by the EC as they were deemed to be hijacked and 636 ballot boxes were ready for counting Declared Governor Powi commended the electoral commission for stepping in and taking the lead in recognizing the issue and dealing with it. “I commend the Electoral Commission for stepping in to teach us so the next time we will observe and conduct the elections correctly,” he said He also expressed great distress and appealed to all leaders in the SHP to have peace prevail, stating that the killing of people and the destruction of buildings is truly unacceptable. He added that whoever is aggrieved should take it to court. “In future elections, follow the law and let the election process be completed and honorably. Whether you win honorably or lose honorably. We don’t blame anybody or the EC, we blame ourselves because we wanted our way, we organized our people to do things unlawfully,” said a remorseful Powi. He went on to say that they have already declared two Members in the two Districts in Morobe Province in this General election and now under special circumstances have done it again in SHP. This is the second consecutive time Mr. Powi has been declared under special conditions, the first was in the 2017 National General Elections. According to the Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Simon Sinai, this seems to be a new trend occurring nationwide. They are now waiting on the Governor General to receive and cite the Writ.

The organizations of the Royal Papua New Guinean Constabulary and the Correctional Services are very much institutes of the state and there are a very specific mandate as to what roles they play in the society. According to the RPNGC Commissioner, Mr. David Manning, it basically aligns with what the Police force and the CS to reform both organizations. Commissioner Manning said that the amalgamation of both forces by the government is to see how they can best support their reforms. “It’s not anything but an alignment of our Government’s intent to carry out key reforms in both organizations and it also allows us to have a more focused and controlled leadership at a political level,” he said. He also said that with the merger, he will soon be taking on added responsibilities, not outside of the police force but within the force to bring about key reforms and advised that he and his executives have had serious discussions on how they can implement those reforms. “Now we are more focused on ensuring that we run the force as effectively and efficiently as we can and those reforms are not just purely administrative policies but also involves reviewing how we conduct business and how effective are we in delivering the policing service for the communities and the country,” said the Police Commissioner. He added that the merger does not have a direct bearing on him terms of having additionally responsibilities as the police commissioner, but it does require him to lead the organization in the reforms that they have been put on hold for quite some time not only in his term but in those of his predecessors. “For all the constabulary, in order for us to align ourselves better with government policies and of course taking into consideration our corporate plans and development plans for the police force and no doubt the correctional services, we stand to benefit immensely from the amalgamation of the two ministries into one,” Mr. Manning said. He further stated that of course they both operate at different ends of the law and justice spectrum. The police force is responsible for preventing, protecting and the apprehension of criminal offenders, the correctional services are more about the rehabilitation and reintegration of these offenders back into society and for them to become a better and more productive citizen that contributes to society and back to the country. He stated that both organizations have cross cutting issues and in order for them to be dealt with effectively, both forces need to undergo reforms and those reforms will make sure that both organizations will be as transparent and accountable when they are undergone, making them provide their services effectively to the people.

Police in Southern Highlands Province have successfully facilitated a temporary ceasefire and peace agreement with the rival factions in the province. Both sides agreed to the ceasefire on Sunday in which a temporary agreement was drafted and will be implemented starting yesterday. SHP Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen, stated that they had successfully brought the fighting to a halt and have now assured the public in Mendi town that they will be enforcing the terms of the agreement. “We reached a consensus on Sunday that fighting will stop. We will be implementing the terms of agreement, the factions asked that there should be a curfew set up in the town and we will be outlawing high powered weapons and setting up of roadblocks,” the PPC said. He added that he was happy that the people have finally come to have an open forum with each other and to sort out their differences without resorting to violence. The factions called to end the violence and have stated that they will meet again soon to discuss the formalities of the agreement and for the signing of another agreement, this time permanent. For now they have resolved to lay down arms. The security forces will also be setting up roadblocks in and around the town, along the highway and to all roads leading into the province. PPC Yangen said this is to monitor the flow of people into the town and province and also to remove weapons from those suspected of inciting violence in the province. The security forces are now conducting awareness in the province with the hopes of educating the people that violence is not the answer to every conflict. As for the curfew, it will be started yesterday afternoon in Mendi at 6pm and ended at 6am.

Porgera Secondary School students would be returning to the school to sit for their exams should the violence subside.High Schools Coordinator, Mrs. Prisca Tombiam advised that they will be meeting this week to deliberate on the matter.Mrs. Tombiam also added that they advised the students to conduct exams at sister school Kopen Secondary, but due to the travelling distance, that was discouraged by the students.“We initially advised them [students] to travel to Kopen Secondary, but after deliberating the pros and cons, they were told to do their exams at the school,” she said.Right now the Provincial Education Board has not met yet to discuss the way forward for the school, but assured that they will try to sort out the issue before the exams.At the moment classes for the rest of the year have been suspended.Meanwhile, Tsak Valley Secondary School that had their classrooms stripped bare last week was due to opportunist that took advantage of the empty school.

NCD Quality checks resume today after it was suspended last night. Moresby South boxes are still being checked due to ongoing disruptions, objections and complaints being made by the scrutineers. NCD Election manager, Mr. Kila Ralai said that the slow pace of the check is due to the ongoing complaints being raised by the scrutineers. “The time for asking for serial numbers of the boxes was during the primary count, these questions along with the information was given during that time. Now it’s just going through the papers and confirming the numbers in each box,” Mr. Ralai said. He also cleared the air surrounding the queried boxes, stating that for those that are queried, by law will still go through the QC. “Those Wanigela Boxes still have to be checked as well despite them being queried. They are not disputed. Only a court order supplied with sufficient evidence can have us exclude them from the process,” he added. He advised that it was frustrating to both him and his officials as the scrutineers continually brought up the same issues, causing much delay and as a result wasted precious time needed for counting. Ralai is adamant that he and his officials will not be tolerating any objections made by the scrutineers as time is running out for them to deliver a leader for the NCD regional seat. So far, they have been given another extension to complete counting and he is hopeful that they pull through and deliver before the deadline. They have until the 26th of this month to wrap up.

After sporadic fighting which led to the burning and looting of business and residential houses in Mendi, all factions are ready to sit down to conduct peace talks. Even though the fighting in the province has ceased, Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen is cautious and ready to deal with the situation should violence break out again. The CIP stated that since fighting ceased yesterday after a whole day of violence, all factions are now ready to sit down and discuss their grievances and hopefully sort themselves out. “We are now trying to sit down and talk out our issues, leaders from all factions will be present also the ACP Anton Billie will be coming down to facilitate peace talks with the leaders, alongside a certain number of politicians. We are now waiting upon their arrival and also for the leaders,” the PPC said. Peace negotiations were made on Friday with a number of the factions after the initial fighting on Thursday, but unfortunately few others were not present during the proceedings. This led to another confrontation in the early hours of yesterday, resulting in the destruction of houses. Security personnel at the time struggled to quell the violence because they were far too stretched out. The security personnel were advised to keep watch over state property. The factions which are known to be supporters of both Peter Nupiri and Bernard Kaku, reacted in kind to the attackers, driving them out of town, whilst in retaliation, burning down a few more houses. All sides are said to be in possession of high powered weapons. The PPC has advised all leaders to provide space for security forces to attend to those in and around the fighting zone and has called for peace talks and negotiations to take place.

Seven (7) Don Bosco Institutions in the country are in high spirits as they celebrate Don Bosco week and also the Foundation week for the Don Bosco Technical Institution [DBTI]. The event also marks the celebration of the birth of the Schools patron Saint, John Bosco. All throughout the week different activities were set up for students in the school with invitations sent out to other institutions to take part in the festivities as well. Vice Dean for Student Services, Ms. Janvier Soria, said celebrations started on Monday with sports and Tuesday saw academic competition and yesterday saw the students showcase what they learned all throughout the year in a Technical Skills Competition, where invited guest from several schools will be attending to observe what the students do in the various workshops. “That is an opportunity for others to see what DBTI can offer, in case any of them want to choose DBTI as a place to further their studies,” Ms. Soria said. Speaking on behalf of the school rector, Fr. Alex Garces pointed out that every year they give time off to students to enjoy themselves as a way to help relieve themselves from the pressure of the classroom setting and to honor the birthday of the schools founder. “We practically stop school for one week to celebrate the feast of the patron saint of the school. Around the world, it’s celebrated in January, but here in PNG, January is a holiday month for students so we do it differently and celebrate in August,” Fr. Alex said.

4 from 7 suspects were apprehended by police in East New Britain over the weekend after a murder/arson incident which led to the death of a person in the Valahur area of the province. Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Janarius Vosivai confirmed that the four are now in police custody while they are still on the hunt for the others. Chief Inspector Vosivai said that the incident occurred after an argument over a mango. The victim fled the scene and sought refuge in his home after a fight ensued leaving the victim outnumbered and at a disadvantage. The man was burnt alive in his home and from the findings from the investigations, was the only casualty. After the preliminary investigations, it was found that the argument occurred around 1am on the morning of the 11th of this month over a mango. This led to the victim and the 7 youths to a brawl which ended in the man returning to seek refuge at home. “The victim locked himself indoors while the suspect continued their assault on his home. They quickly set fire to the victim’s home but fortunately everyone managed to make it out of the fire except the victim,” Vosivai said. The Chief Inspector is now appealing to the communities all over the province to not resort to violence over petty squabbles. “There are a lot of issues that happen in the communities, especially to youths, which resort to violence. I urge all communities that we need to start getting our youths under control,” Vosivai said. He added that if they do not, they will continue to encounter problems. The PPC advised that should there be any problems, they should look to other ways to solve them and not to resort to violence. Currently the manhunt for the rest of the suspects is underway, while the police try to understand the true motive behind the murder.

An overjoyed Moresby North-East Member-elect, John Kaupa, in his re-election declaration ceremony this afternoon thanked all those who believed in his leadership and has vowed to improve the electorate moving forward. The Pangu Pati man could not hide his excitement as he addressed the media after his declaration speech whilst giving thanks to the people. One main issue that the member-elect is looking to address as soon as he is sworn into parliament is tackling Law and Order. “That’s a big issue so me and my team will sit with the Metropolitan Superintendent and then work out a plan forward because my electorate is made up of three quarters of settlements and we need to bring law and order to the settlements, so we need to emphasize more on that,” said the member-elect. He stated that community policing is a crucial factor that can help curb the rise of crime in Moresby North-West. “We want to bring law and order right to the settlement, to the doorstep because it takes people so long to come to Gordons or to Boroko to have their issues addressed and with community policing, we have to have people in all communities so that they participate and we can bring peace and harmony to the settlements,” Kaupa said. He reiterated that security of the people in the city is paramount, and due to this reason urged that there is a need for more men in blue to be trained to take watch over the city. Kaupa added that both he and the Governor are both working together to combat various issues and have already outlined plans for the improvement of the electorate.

Moresby North East Counting update as of 1:00pm 12th August, 2022. 1: John Kaupa 18365 2: Andapanga 17580 John Kaupa reached the absolute majority. John Kaupa to be declared MNE MP now. Meanwhile, there is heavy police presence around 6 mile and the member elect's place of residence. Police and Army have advised all to stay indoors and keep the place cleared and free

The people have spoken, and a member is chosen. Ms. Rufina Peter has unseated incumbent and former Governor, Mr. Robert Agarobe after the final exclusion yesterday evening at the Ben Moide Soldiers Club, Murray Barracks, in the nation’s capital. A jubilant governor-elect was all smiles as she, accompanied by her daughter Joy and fellow candidate Paul Simon, drove into the club for her declaration. Election manager, Mr. Peter Malaifeope expressed great delight in signing as he recalled the day Ms. Peter walked up to him to place her nomination. “She was the first candidate to be nominated when the nominations were opened and when the nominations closed and I declared the order of draw, the first person whose name was drawn, was none other than Rufina Peter. It may have been a coincidence, but I think something else was working” Malaifeope said. Ms. Peter crossed the line with 62,361 votes, shooting past the absolute majority of 60,640 by 1676 votes and outscoring former Governor, Robert Agarobe by 3,444 votes, who came in second place with 58,917 votes after the 20th and final exclusion which saw Nelson Saroa eliminated. Meanwhile, there was also a reason to rejoice for the counting officials as the merry Mr. Malaifeope assured them that they would be receiving their allowances in due course. A cry of happiness erupted around the club as counting officials and fellow central province public servants celebrated the appointment of Ms. Peter and the news of collecting their allowances. “Let me remind or let me inform all the officials here, please forgive me if I am not full of money in my pocket now, but your concern for your allowances have been taken care off,” Malaifeope said.