5 Mar 2013

Watchdog finds PNG's 2012 elections seriously flawed

3:12 pm on 5 March 2013

A report by the Papua New Guinea watchdog Transparency International has found last year's parliamentary elections to be seriously flawed.

The group fielded 282 observers for the 2012 elections, more than double the number employed for the 2007 poll.

In 21 percent of polling places observers described the election process as either unfair or very unfair.

The process at 45 percent of polling places was found to be mostly fair, a result that Transparency says no election commission should find acceptable.

The report states a concern that peaceful elections may be seen as meaning the same as free and fair elections.

It suggests that many of the issues are fixable, without the PNG Electoral Commission having to spend any more money or donors having to increase their funding.