The Morobe Provincial Election Office has confirmed that the tally board for the Kabwum Open by-election is being set up at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae. Election Manager Simon Soheke said polling is progressing well across the electorate with no major issues reported so far. He said polling teams in Kabwum are continuing their work, and two Mobile Squad units have been deployed to Indagen in Komba LLG to support security. Mr Soheke said, “Polling is running smoothly. There have been no disturbances and everything is on track.” Extraction of polling teams is expected to start on Wednesday, 23 July, with some teams continuing polling into Tuesday and Wednesday due to minor schedule changes. Polling teams from the YUS LLG are expected to be extracted on Thursday, 24 July. Soheke assured the public that the election team is doing its best to ensure a fair and peaceful by-election and that all ballot boxes will be returned to Lae safely. Vote counting will take place at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium once all ballot boxes arrive from Kabwum. Authorities are continuing to monitor the process closely to ensure transparency and fairness throughout. Counting for the Kabwum by-election is set to begin early next week in Lae, according to Morobe Election Manager Simon Soheke. He said polling is complete, ballot boxes are secured, and the team is ready to begin once the boxing tournament at the stadium ends. “All four LLGs have finished polling and we’re planning to start counting on Monday or Tuesday,” he said. Mr Soheke said 32 presiding officers from Kabwum have joined the counting team, and they aim to finish by August 7. He also confirmed that police will remain in Kabwum after the count as a safety measure, although no major issues have been reported so far.