MEMBERS of parliament have shown a vested interest in making sure the Electoral System and processes in the country work better despite various ideologies regarding how the system works.
Leader of the Opposition and Member for Aoke/Langalanga Mathew Wale yesterday moved the motion in parliament to consider Paper, Solomon Islands Electoral Commission Office 2019 Annual Report.
He moved that parliament resolves it into the Committee of the Whole House to consider National Parliament Paper No.15 of 2020, the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission Office 2019 Annual Report and it annexes:
- Annex-1 The 2019 General Election Report
- Annex-2 The Electoral Reform Strategic Framework 2019-23
Wale in his opening statement said that Elections are the bedrock of democracy.
“The strengths and weaknesses in electoral systems, laws, and administration are an indication of the strength and vibrancy of a given democracy,” he said.
He further told the parliamentarians that “we all have a vested interest to pay close attention to our electoral systems, laws and their administration in the Solomon Islands beyond just our own political survival.”
In his statement, he also highlighted issues like cross-border registration, election petition, the secrecy of voters, digital voting, and administration issues to be considered.
These issues were also highlighted in the 2019 General Election Report.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare when contributing to the motion supported the leader of the Opposition.
“The government will take note of all the issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition and rest assured that these concerns will be considered in the upcoming electoral reform exercise,” he added.
MP for Small Malaita Rick Hou also supported the motion but has a different view on the issue of secrecy of voters and batching.
“I’m not really sure if counting by batches really prevents the winning candidate from identifying their voters during counting,” he said.
He stressed that counting by batches even worsen what the electoral office is trying to prevent.
In terms of cross border voting, Hou said that as long as Rural Constituency Development Fund remains with the MPs, cross border voting will continue to be an issue.
MP for East Honiara Douglas Ete and Minister for Foreign Affairs also shared the same sentiment.
They both supported the motion and expressed that the issue raised by Wale needs to be seriously considered so that it can be factored into the Electoral Reform Strategic Framework 2019-23.
The parliament resolves it into the Committee of the Whole House to consider National Parliament Paper No.15 of 2020, the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission Office 2019 Annual Report and it annexes yesterday afternoon.
By ANDREW FANASIA
Newsroom Honiara
