The Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group monitoring Papua New Guinea's elections says having a free and fair poll is critical for the country following its recent political impasse.
The eight-member observer team includes politicians, members of election commissions as well as NGO and media people.
Edward Natapei, who is Vanuatu's opposition leader, says his group will be deployed in groups of two to various locations in PNG and moved around the country as the two-week polling schedule proceeds from Saturday.
He says the teams will work with PNG's own observers to monitor the process.
"We will issue an interim statement after the election, and a final report at a later stage. For Papua New Guinea, the conduct of credible elections is vital, and has become even more critical to the country's future following the constitutional crisis and political uncertainty of recent months."
Edward Natapei
