Counting for Moresby South and Regional Seat is expected to continue today at Rita Flynn according to Moresby South Returning Officer, Mr. Tau Toea.
He said so far fifty-six boxes have been counted with sixty-nine more to go, which is a total of 125 boxes.
He added that so far three counts were suspended due to the dispute of ballot boxes but has assured that the counting will definitely proceed to avoid any more delays and that the declaration should be announced well before the Return of Writs on the 29th.
Mr. Toea stated that a formal petition was handed to them by the candidates of Moresby South to suspend counting due to certain discrepancies pertaining to the three disputed boxes.
“The petition has been brought forward to the Electoral Commission and the matter addressed.”
He said despite the issue at hand, his team is now in the process of moving forward and has stressed that he will do everything in his power now to make sure that the counting continues and is completed.
“The only reason we will face any more delays is if the candidates continue to come up with petitions, otherwise we are well equipped to move forward.”
In terms of disputing ballot boxes, Toea stated that this should have been done during the polling period, and counting to just continue without any disruptions.
Toea has warned all counting officials and scrutineers not to give a hard time and to allow the process to go through smoothly and if so, will be removed from the counting center.