Papua New Guinea seeks election security help from Timor-Leste and other regional partners

Papua New Guinea is seeking security assistance from Timor-Leste and other regional nations to ensure the integrity of its general election next year. Prime Minister James Marape announced plans to request 200 defense personnel from Timor-Leste as part of a broader strategy to assemble a 1,000-strong multinational election security and observation team.

This proposed team would include soldiers from Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. According to a statement from Marape's office, the Solomon Islands has already committed to participating in the deployment. Prime Minister Marape emphasized that external support is crucial for extending the actual polling time and providing a peaceful environment for citizens to exercise their right to choose their leaders.

Marape recently held discussions with Timor-Leste's President Dr. José Ramos-Horta on the sidelines of Vanuatu's 46th Independence anniversary celebrations. Their talks in Port Vila focused on enhancing regional security, and both leaders also met with Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat. These diplomatic engagements underscore the collaborative approach PNG is taking to secure its electoral process.

Papua New Guinea's past general elections have been marred by persistent problems, including ballot fraud, inaccuracies in electoral rolls, and violence during polling and vote-counting periods. Marape's office indicated that a cabinet paper will soon formalize the structure for regional contributions to PNG's election security and observation efforts before official requests are sent to lock in the contingent. This proactive measure aims to prevent a recurrence of past electoral disruptions.

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External support is vital to our strategy to lengthen actual polling time, allowing our citizens a peaceful environment to choose their leaders