Ahern warns govts on referendum
BY GORETHY KENNETH
THE Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville governments have been warned to strictly adhere to the terms of reference of the Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) so the referendum dates are not changed again.
Commission chairman Bertie Ahern in his address and at the press conference gave the warning the two governments of PNG and the ABG that any delays of funding, specifically for the referendum roll, among others, will only derail the work being carried out by BRC for the referendum vote to take place.
Mr Ahern urged the two governments to fast-track the work of the BRC by releasing the K20 million allocated by the national government so that the preparations could be done quickly.
He said the referendum must be done properly so that the outcome could be credible so as to bring lasting peace on the island.
Ahern said that it was disappointing that the June 15 date could not be met, but assured that the BRC stood ready to take on the challenges once all was in order.
In his opening remarks at the start of the joint supervisory body meeting in Port Moresby last Friday, Mr Ahern said the target date of June 15 could not be met because of this specific shortfall.
But he commended the two governments for the strong support given and said that the K1 million given, (K500,000 each from both governments) had already been used in other preparatory work towards the process.
Mr Ahern commended the two governments for agreeing to the set referendum dates of August 16 when writs would be issued and October 12 when polling starts. He added that he was eager to see the process go through successfully singling out the charter that both governments signed last year.
“I flew from the other side of the world to help with the process, which is very important, and I am eager and determined to see the progress and it’s important that we note that there’s been a lot of success in many areas,” Mr Ahern said.
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