Four seats have so far been declared in the elections for the autonomous government in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville.
Two weeks of polling for the 41-seat legislature finished last Friday.
The Post Courier's reporter in Bougainville, Gorethy Kenneth, says early in the count in the seven-way contest for the Presidency, the incumbent James Tanis is leading in south and central Bougainville.
But she says the former Governor, John Momis, has established a substantial lead in north Bougainville which is the largest part of the province's electorate.