Establishing of Bougainville Community Governments
The first Community Government elections have completed peacefully and successfully within the timeframe set by the Bougainville Executive Council (BEC).
According to the Secretary for Community Government, Mr Wesley Kenneth, these were the first Community Government Elections that had been conducted since the Community Government Act was passed last year in June 2016.
“We are pleased with the outcomes of the elections and are grateful for everyone’s support in ensuring that these elections were conducted and completed within the timeframe set by the BEC.”
“It is now the Department’s responsibility to ensure that the 43 non-urban CG’s are declared into office and conduct their first meeting, where they will each elect the Chair and Deputy Chair.”
The Department has been preparing for these next steps, which will be implemented within the guidelines of the CG Act, said Kenneth.
The procedures laid out in the Act are relatively new and it is essential that the Department ensures these procedures are followed and a standard practice for community government’s induction is used across all 47 CGs.
The Department will oversee the first general meeting for the remaining 42 community governments after the 12th of June as soon as funds are made available to deploy teams out to the regions.
Beyond this, the Department will now continue to work with OBEC to prepare for the elections of the 4 urban Community Government elections (Buka, Kokopau, Arawa and Buin). This exercise will again require the support of all stakeholders in ensuring that these remaining community governments are established by the end of this year.
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