CEO Anisi urges prioritsation of the Honiara City Council and Provincial Assembly Election Bill and the Electoral Amendment Bill, highlights their importance to ensuring the effective implementation of the synchronised 2024 NGE
THE Solomon Islands Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Jasper Highwood Anisi has called on the government to prioritise two important bills before the current 11th Parliament dissolves on December 31.
These bills are crucial in ensuring the effective implementation of the first ever synchronised National General Elections in 2024 and they are the Honiara City Council and Provincial Assembly Election Bill and the Electoral Amendment Bill.
Mr Anisi emphasised the urgency of passing these bills during a Solomon Islands Electoral Office talkback show on the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday.
He urged the government to ensure the passage of these bills ahead of the synchronised elections next year.
“We still have two outstanding very important bills that we need. One is in its third draft which is the HCC and Provincial Assembly Election Bill.
“The drafting team in the Attorney General’s Office has already drafted it and it’s in its third draft stage.
“The other one is the Electoral Amendment Bill, which is currently before Cabinet. The Cabinet needs to endorse it as a matter of urgency when considering the current Parliament dissolves on 31 December 2023.
“We have a lot of other new bills before Parliament and the same drafting team will be going through those bills in terms of their procession.”
“We need these two bills in particular to be passed quickly before the dissolution of this house so that we can hold elections simultaneously. The importance of prioritising these two bills to ensure the effective implementation of simultaneous elections.
“These two bills are crucial for the simultaneous National General Election, HCC Election, and Provincial Assembly Election that the SIEC plans to conduct,” Mr Anisi said.
