GAO-BUGOTU Constituency in Isabel Province awaits the decision of the High Court on the winning candidate of the constituency’s Parliamentary Seat.
The Returning Officer (RO) did not count the 13 pre-poll ballot papers from Honiara, except for Buala, during the batch counting process.
Despite this, the RO declared Trevor Mahaga Hedley as the winner with 2861 votes, narrowly edging out former Member of Parliament Samuel Manetoali who polled 2848 votes.
Similar situations occurred in the Hograno-Kia-Havulei and Maringe-Kokota Constituencies where the ROs also did not count the pre-poll ballot papers from Honiara, except for Buala.
However, the Electoral Commission opted not to take action in these two constituencies due to the significant difference in votes cast between the successful candidates and the first runners-up, which far exceeded the number of pre-poll votes.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Jeremiah Manele retained the Hograno-Kia-Havulei Seat with a substantial victory of 4280 votes, while the runner-up Selwyn Ruimana polled only 2167 votes, a difference of 2113 votes.
Similarly, Kathy Launa Nori secured a victory with a margin of 106 votes, defeating former MP Dr Culwick Togamana by 1940 votes to 1834 votes.
SIEC Chief Executive Officer Jasper Highwood Anisi informed the media that in the case of Gao-Bugotu Constituency, where 13 pre-poll ballot papers were not counted, the final outcome declared might be affected if all these ballots, without exception, favour the runner-up.
Mr Anisi explained that since the number of uncounted pre-poll ballot papers equals the difference between the votes cast in favor of the successful candidate and the first runner-up and the error was caused by SIEC officials, SIEC decided to write to the Attorney General.
SIEC intends to request the Attorney General to file a status petition under section 109 of the Electoral Act to enable the High Court to open the envelope containing the uncounted pre-poll ballot papers and determine the votes therein.
Mr Anisi attributed the error to pressure during the process, adding that the oversight included the pre-poll ballot papers in the counting batches.
He said upon reconciliation at the SIEC Head Office, it was discovered that some ballot papers were not counted.
Presently, Mahaga remains the official winning candidate until the pre-poll ballot papers are counted.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
Solomon Star, Honiara
