Today, 14th December 2022, will see voters in 16 electoral wards in Choiseul and 26 wards in Western Provinces go to polls to decide and vote for their provincial assembly members.
All polling officials have completed their training as of Monday 12 December 2022 and were deployed to respective polling stations by yesterday. All polling stations have been prepared for setup for polling.
This election day is not a public Holiday by law for these provincial elections, but it is a very important day and should be observed by all voters and business houses to allow voters who wish to travel to cast their vote at their polling stations.
Voting starts at 7am and closes at 5pm. All voters are reminded to cast their votes in a timely manner during day. Voters wishing to vote must physically attend at their allotted polling station to vote, there are no other means of voting.
It is important that voters in these two provincial assembly elections are to check their names to know the locations of their polling stations before travelling distances to vote.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Fredrick Bosoboe reminds voters that voting procedures and the polling process remains the same as in previous elections and voters should be aware and be kept informed of how to correctly mark the ballot paper and cast a ballot paper to make it count.
Mr. Bosoboe urges all voters to co-operate with our polling officers at the polling stations to ensure peaceful and orderly polling. Our polling officers are there to serve you and to assist you with casting of your votes correctly, seek all the assistances you need at the polling station.
He further urged all candidates and supporters to respect the polling processes and to allow voters to cast their votes freely without intimidation. It is imperative that voters make their votes willfully and be heard through their ballot papers.
We wish all the candidates all the best in the election and be reminded that we are all winners, taking part in a democratic process, allowing our people to choose amongst us our provincial leaders.
“We acknowledge our police men and women who are also taking part in these elections, providing that safe environment for voters to be able to cast their votes freely and making sure the election process is safe” Mr. Bosoboe reiterated.
Elections are a set of processes and activities and election day is one part with counting of the votes to follow once polling is done. As soon as counting is also completed results will be declared and published. I urged that we allow the election process to be fully completed, and fulfilled.
The Electoral Commission acknowledges the immense support rendered by all our stakeholders towards the possible eventuating of these elections.
The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission is confident that all logistical, human resource and safety preparations are in place to ensure free, fair and safe elections.
Mr. Bosoboe reaffirmed, adequate planning and preparations by our staff at the headquarter level and those on the ground have been sufficient for successful elections. We now need voters to turn out in numbers to participate to give credibility and legitimacy to the outcome – especially with provincial elections with handful of votes.
The Electoral Commission appeals to all role players – election staff, voters, candidates and their agents – to abide by all the electoral laws and regulations.
With everyone’s cooperation we believe these elections will be successful in holding yet another free, fair and safe elections for both provinces.
Source: Press Release, Solomon Islands Electoral Commission