NEW DAWN ON BOUGAINVILLE

190817BOUGAINVILLE SERVICE PROVIDERS DISSAPPOINTED
By Aloysius Laukai

Service providers for the 2012 and 2017 National Elections are disappointed that the Electoral Commission has not met its side of the bargain and pay them for their services.

They said that all 2012 outstandings will be paid before June this year but to date they have not paid the 2012 plus the 2017 election bills throughout Central South and North Bougainville.

And to make it worse officers have vacated thir offices and operating from their homes to avoid enquiries by service providers.
This has resulted in their officials in the districts being pressurised to speed up the payments.

Service providers in South Bougainville have been confronting the officials who have been telling them that payment has been made but this has not eventuated.

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230717 PATER WIN
By Aloysius Laukai
The Central Bougainville Open seat has been won by a new comer, FR. SIMON DUMARINU from Deomori in PANGUNA. He is from the SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY led by POWES PARKOP the Governor for NCD.
FR. SIMON DUMARINU is a Catholic Priest from the Marist Society of the Catholic Church.
He polled 7,782 votes to defeat the former member for Central Bougainville and PNG Mining Minister SAM AKOITAI who polled 7,770 votes after the 19th elimination of the sitting member and Communications Minister, JIMMY MIRINGTORO who was running 3rd in the race for the Central Bougainville seat.
The declaration of the seat for Central Bougainville did not come easy as the counting started in Arawa Central Bougainville then transferred to Buka for the final count.
It went through several checks and rechecks and suspensions until Counting experts from South Bougainville led by the Returning Officer for South Bougainville came and assisted.
The winner was declared after midnight last night.
Meanwhile, the newly elected member for Central Bougainville has vowed to work for Bougainville in unity with the ABG and the three Bougainville members of the National Parliament.
Speaking after his declaration last night at the UNITED CHURCH in Buka town, FR. SIMON DUMARINU thanked the Electoral Manager for Bougainville, all Supporters, counting officials, Police, media, all candidates and their supporters and many people who have been praying for a good out come for making it to the final declaration.
The North Bougainville open seat was won by a NA Candidate WILLIAM NAKIN. MR. NAKIN was declared winner after the 3rd place candidate and former acting Chief Secretary for the ABG and lawyer Chris Siriosi was eliminated.
The South Bougainville Open seat was retained by TIMOTHY MASIU who is another NA candidate.
Another NA candidate for the Bougainville Regional seat is running second to the sitting member and URP candidate JOE LERA.
Counting for the Bougainville Regional seat is progressing well.With Eliminations that startd yesterday afternoon.
By this afternoon Candidates met with the Election Manager, DESMOND TIMIYASO to include votes for the candidate who died during campaign and was voted still by voters.
The candidates argued that those votes must also be counted and not counted as informal votes.
Meanwhile, two bridges on the Buka Arawa highway have been burnt by supporters of a losing candidate in the Central Bougainville.
The bridges destroyed are said to be in Wakunai one of them is the Red River bridge.
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Caption of FR. SIMON DUMARINU signing the writs after his declaration last night.

140717COUNTING SUSPENDED FOR QUALITY CHECK
By Aloysius Laukai

Counting for the South Bougainville Open seat has been suspended for tonight and will resume with Quality check tomorrow morning.
This was after the final Ballot Boxes for the primary count was completed late this afternoon.
After Count 71, sitting member TIMOTHY MASIU was on 9,696 votes, running second was JOE KIM SUWAMARU on 6,116 votes and NICK PENIAI on 4,999.
Other candidates were on the following, RAYMOND KAKAPONI on 1,141, ALBERT MAGOI on 2,490, HERMAN BUAGO on 2,003,KATU ANDREW OSIKORE was on 1,576, KIASON POTOURA on 641, PETER NERAU on 355, ROSE PIHEI on 477 and PATRICK HEROMATE 254 AND MICHAEL ANUGU on 227 votes.
Total Allowable Ballot Papers were on 29,975 and Informal were on 510 and Total votes were 30,485 votes.
This means that the winning candidate must muster a total vote of 15,243 votes to be declared as the new member for South Bougainville.
This will now happen after the Quality check and elimination of candidates with the least number of votes.
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140717MASIU LEADING AT THE TIME OF SUSPENSION
By Aloysius Laukai

The sitting member TIMOTHY MASIU established a commanding lead as counting moved to Buin district ballots after closely trailing JOE KIM SUWAMARU, NICK PENIAI and ALBERT MAGOI in the counting of Torokina and Siwai votes.
After a slow start in Torokina, MR. MASIU mastered a majority of votes in BANA and commandeered votes in Buin to jump to a comfortable lead.
At the suspension of counting after count 69,MR. MASIU was 3,000 votes clear on 9,258 votes ahead of JOE KIM SUWAMARU on 6,083 votes in second place followed by NICK PENIAI in third place with 4997 votes.
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140717 COUNTING COMMENCES IN SOUTH BOUGAINVILLE.
By Aloysius Laukai
Counting for the final two boxes in the South Bougainville counting centre resumed this afternoon after lengthy discussion with grieving candidates and Election officials at the Buin Police station today.
This follows a petition hand delivered to the Election officials yesterday blaming foul-play in the conduct of the 2017 National elections.
The candidates, Joe Kim Suwamaru ,Herman Buago, Rose Pihei, Albert Magoi and Raymond Kakaponi with their supporters marched to the Counting centre and handed a petition to the Returning Officer, JOHN ITANU to suspend all countings.
They finally met today and resolved to allow the counting to proceed.
The meeting at the Buin Police Station included Representatives for the sitting member, TIMOTHY MASIU, KATU ANDREW OSIKORE and candidates, HERMAN BUAGO,JOE KIM SUWAMARU,ALBERT MAGOI,NICK PENIAI, RAYMOND KAKAPONI and ROSE PIHEI.
The Election officials included the Returning Officer, JOHN ITANU ,South Bougainville Police Commander, EMMART TSIMES, Buin Police Station Commander, LAMBERT CUYPERS,Buin district Magistrate, LUKE KERIA, Executive Manager for the Buin District, PETER KAMUAI and was covered by Reporters from the Post Courier, NBC and New Dawn FM.

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Caption of the crowd after the Candidates and Supporters marched to the Buin Police Station to suspend counting. Picture by Aloysius Laukai

130717PROTEST DISTURBS COUNTING IN BUIN
By Aloysius Laukai in Buin

At least four candidates and supporters protested to the Buin counting centre this evening to suspend all counting until their grievances are addressed.

New Dawn FM rushed to the scene and heard that the candidates demanded that there must be recount as they suspected foulplay during counting.

The Returning Officer JOHN ITANU told the candidates and supporters that he cannot suspend counting but the candidates can challenge their grievances through that Court of Disputed Returns.

They presented a Petition that the Election officials will see and respond.

We will find out of counting will go ahead.

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Caption by Aloysius Laukai of Candidates, JOE KIM, Candidate Herman Buago, Candidate Rose Pihei and Candidate Albert Magoi.

090717COUNTING IN BUIN SUSPENDED
By Aloysius Laukai in Buin

Counting for the South Bougainville Open seat was suspended tonight because polling officials from Torokina did not make it to the Counting centre in Buin tonight.
Reports from the Returning Officer, JOHN ITANU that was broadcasted by New Dawn FM tonight said that strong winds did not allow them to travel to Marau this afternoon.
He said they are hoping thy travel tomorrow morning and counting will start when they arrive in Buin.
MR. ITANU has apologized to the public and candidates plus their scrutineers for the inconvenience.
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Caption MR. ITANU making the announcement in Buin tonight by Aloysius Laukai

050617CANDIDATE KORA WANTS TO WORK WITH ABG
By Aloysius Laukai
The PDM candidate for the North Bougainville Open seat, DAMIAN KORA says he has only two things he is standing for in the 2017 National Elections.
In his political talk on New Dawn FM yesterday, MR. KORA said that first he wants to work with the ABG and attend ABG meetings so that he can get the same information to the National Government.
He said past leaders had nothing to talk about in the National Parliament because they were not meeting with the ABG leadership to get their grievances to the National Parliament.
MR. KORA said this has resulted in them sitting quietly like Bougainville had no issues to talk about in Parliament.
He said that the ABG was a transitional government which required the national members to provide the bridge between the National Government and Bougainville but this has not happened in the last sixteen years.
MR. KORA said that our own leaders have failed the people of Bougainville and therefore a complete new leader who knows the peace process must be elected this time to set the course back on track.
His second priority was to organize and fund the 14 Constituencies in North Bougainville to develop their Cocoa and Coconut plantations an d organize buyers to buy in the constituencies to create wealth in the villages.
MR. KORA said that the people of Bougainville must have cash in their pockets as they go into the preparation for the Referendum in 2019.
He said the people of North Bougainville must talk and develop what they own on their land and that the plantations that have look after them for so many years.
He said issues like the PANGUNA mine is for the landowners of Panguna and not the North Bougainvilleans who have survived on Copra and Cocoa to this day.
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290517ELECTION TIME
By Aloysius Laukai

Its campaign time and voters in Halia and Haku can question why sitting members and the ABG has left this main Haku /Halia highway to be so bad as this. I had to use four wheel to get over these pot holes..picture by Aloysius Laukai

290517FUNDS FOR OUTSTANDING
By Aloysius Laukai

The PNG Election Manager for Bougainville, DESMOND TIMIYASO says that the finance secretary has adviced all service providers that all outstanding for the 2012 PNG Elections will be paid before the start of Polling and we are hoping that these payments are done according to his public statement.
He told New Dawn FM this afternoon that officers were working around the clock to make sure this is done before the conduct of polling.
MR. TIMIYASO said that he had personally approached the Commissioner and his deputy to get the assurance for the payment.
He said Polling on Bougainville will be conducted but he is expecting disruptions if outstanding from the 2012 National Elections are not settled.
MR.TIMIYASO said that at the moment work is progressing well with the preparation work.
 
 
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caption of Desmond Timiyaso at his Buka office by Aloysius Laukai