The Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai has advised the people of Papua New Guinea that his office is now ready to deliver the 2022 National General Elections. Commissioner Sinai made this announcement following the approval of 7 new electorates by Prime Minister James Marape in Parliament on Tuesday. He said the Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been at work since last July to come up with the boundaries report and redistribution of electoral boundaries and further mentioned that the commission (EBC) is grateful to the Marape-Basil government for accepting the Electoral Boundaries Commission Recommendations and Maps (EBC Report). The new electorates include Delta Fly, Hiri-Koiari, Popondetta, Nakanai, Wau-Waria, Komo-Hulia and Porgera-Paiela. The adaptation of the 7 new electorates now brings the total number of seats to contest for in the 2022 National General Elections to 116. Commissioner Sinai said that population was one of the major determinants in the creation of the 7 new electorates to ensure an equal and fair distribution of resources and equal participation by citizens of this country. “The main goal of the EBC in carrying out its function was to ensure that all open electorates within the country contained approximately the same population within the limits prescribed by the Organic Law on National & Local Level Government Elections.” “This goal is prescribed under the Constitution and the EBC considered this as a determinative factor throughout its operation,” Commissioner Sinai said. The Electoral Boundaries Commission is now calling on the relevant stakeholders and implementing agencies to support and manage these new electorates going forward into the 2022 National General Elections. Commissioner Sinai also said that there are no new LLGs being introduced apart from the existing 331 and so budget has already been factored for these LLGs in the last elections as well as for the upcoming election. He further advised that the EBC only split up the existing electorates within their own boundaries without touching or overlapping the neighboring electorates and so in terms of funding, all LLGs within those new electorates have already been covered in the budget. “With the upcoming elections, we already have polling schedules, polling teams, LLGs and districts aligned. The only difference is we are creating a new name for the electorates.” “To separate them is a matter of moving two locations (electorates) and setting a line, separating them by way of polling schedules and polling arrangements however budgets for these LLGs have already been factored in past elections as well as for the upcoming elections,” said Commissioner Sinai. The Electoral Commission is now looking forward to carrying out polling for the elections and ensuring due diligence for the election process is being adhered to by all parties concerned.