Province Election Manager Confirms Secure Handling of Ballot Boxes as Counting Process Prepares to Begin
The election results for the Western Province constituencies are anticipated tomorrow as the verification process of the ballot boxes is currently underway. Collin Potakana, the province election manager, confirmed this information to the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) media in Gizo today.
“At the close of polling yesterday, we managed to retrieve all boxes for four constituencies, including Gizo/Kolombanaga, Ranongga/Simbo, North Vella La Vella, and South Vella La Vella. The remaining five constituencies, which include Marovo, South New Georgia Rendova and Tetepare, Shortlands, North New Georgia, West New Georgia, and Vonavona, will be retrieved today,” Potakana stated.
“All the boxes are kept and secured at the Western Provincial Assembly office conference room under close police protection before they can be moved to the counting centers, which are at the Gizo Community High School,” he added.
Potakana assured the public that the ballot boxes are secured, as they are under tight police security and escorted from the polling stations to the counting centers.
Regarding the counting process, Potakana mentioned that they are aiming to begin it today with the verification process first, before commencing the actual counting.
“This is a new process within our electoral procedure. Unlike previous elections, counting starts straight away as long as the ballot boxes are retrieved and arrive at the counting centers. But now, the new process is that we will first undergo a verification process, which can take the whole day. So, actual counting might even start tomorrow,” Potakana explained.
“The verification is crucial, especially to ensure that we verify the number of cast ballots against the batches delivered to the polling stations, and to ensure that all the shield numbers and documents match up, avoiding anomalies or any issues that could hinder the next process, which is the actual counting,” he added.
“For public awareness today, it is more likely just verification. Once we are satisfied and in agreement, counting will commence. So more likely, verification will take the whole day today, depending on how many polling stations we have. And then actual counting will happen,” Potakana elaborated.
A total of 90 counting officials will be involved in the counting process for Western Province, with 10 officials assigned to each constituency.
It’s worth noting that the Western Province has nine constituencies and only participates in the national general election (NGE), with participation in the provincial election scheduled for 2028.
