Papua New Guineans go to the polls to elect their new government in a heavily guarded election.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Papua New Guinea from 4 to 22 July 2022 to elect the members of the National Parliament. The 118 members of the National Parliament are elected from single-member constituencies by limited instant-runoff voting; voters are given up to three preferences, with a candidate declared elected once they received over 50% of preference votes. Of the 118 members, 96 are elected from “open” seats and 22 from provincial seats based on the twenty provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. The winners of the provincial seats also become the provincial governor. Vote counting is scheduled to begin on 29 July. Due to the voting system, vote staggering and how rural much of the country is, the vote counting usually takes several weeks.
Voters headed to the polls on Monday for heavily guarded elections in Papua New Guinea, where millions people live in poverty despite vast mineral and energy riches. About 10,000 police, army and corrections services personnel have been mobilized for the vote in this Pacific island nation, which has a history of corruption and election-related killings. Australia deployed 130 troops with transport aircraft to help secure the lengthy voting process.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape said “We want transparency, we want accountability and above all we want a safe, fair and secured polling period.”