Meet Paul Rowland, IFES Chief of Party, Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands
Elections in Papua New Guinea: 2019 Local-Level Government Elections
From June 22 to July 6, citizens of Papua New Guinea will go to the polls for local-level government (LLG) elections. Voters in each ward will cast their ballots to elect a member of the LLG assembly, commonly known as the ward councilor.
The LLG elections are important as they are conducted at the ward level where the majority of the country’s rural population is located and many basic services are lacking. Electing leaders into the LLG assembly provides the avenue and means for representing these voters’ interests and needs.
Additionally, the 2019 LLG elections mark a test for Papua New Guinea’s election administration as these are the first LLG elections since election delivery was decentralized to the provincial level for the 2017 national election.