NEW START DATE DEFERS ELECTION BY TWO WEEKS

The start of 2022 National General Election has been delayed by two weeks after the start date was moved to May as officially confirmed by the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission (PNGEC).

The PNG Electoral Commissioner Mr. Simon Sinai in a statement released by his office, said the Issue of Writs and Nomination Open is now moved to the 12^th of May and not initially scheduled for Thursday April 28^th.

The statement stated that under the Authority of Section 73 (Writs for General Elections) of the Organic law on National and Local Level Government Elections (Election Laws), the PNGEC advised the Head of State to issue the Writs for the 11^th General Election for members of parliament in accordance with the provisions of Section 105 (General Elections) of the country’s constitution.     

As per this advice, the new election dates are as follows,

1. The Issue of Writs/ Nomination Opens:           Thursday 12^th May 2022 at 4:00pm

2. Nomination Closes:                                        Thursday 19^th May 2022 at 4:00pm

3. Polling Period Starts:                                       Saturday 09^th July 2022
4. Polling Period Ends:                                        Friday 22^nd July 2022

5. Return of Writs:                                              Friday 29^th July 2022 at 4:00pm    

Calculation of Dates,

• (7days) Period of Nomination                                                 12^th May to 19^th May 2022

• (8 weeks) Period from Issue of Writs to start of Polling Period   12^th May to 9^th July 2022
• (14 days) Period of Polling                                                         09^th July to 22^nd July 2022
• (7 days) Period from End of Polling Period to Return of Writs   23^rd July to 29^th July 2022

Meanwhile, the number of writs to be issued for the provincial electorates is twenty-two (22), including the National Capital District and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The number of Open Electorate writs to be issued increases from eighty- nine (89) to ninety- six (96) following the 10^th Parliament acceptance of the Electoral Boundaries Commission’s recommendations for seven (7) new Open Electorates in line with Section 35 (Open Electorates) and section 41 (Determination of New Electorates) of the Electoral Law.  

All together the total number of electorate writs is now one- hundred and eighteen (118) for this 2022 National General Election.