President Toroama on Bougainville By-election
Bougainvilleans are being urged to vote responsibly during the Bougainville Regional Seat By-elections that is currently underway in Bougainville.
ABG President Ishmael Toroama made the statement during his Christmas message to the people of Bougainville.
“The Bougainville Regional seat, is equivalent to a Governors’ seat in other provinces. This is not a time to vote for beginners,” President Toroama said.
“We need quality and experienced political leaders with active national and international links, who can fight for Bougainville independence, on the floor of PNG Parliament, and also lobby with international friends,” President Toroama added.
“There are six candidates from which you are to make your choice of 1, 2 and 3. I appeal to you to put party politics aside and vote for who will best deliver the Referendum result and Independence for Bougainville,” President Toroama said.
Since the inception of the autonomous arrangements on Bougainville there has been a lack of coordination between the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the four Bougainville National MP’s.
Past ABG administrations have even gone as far as nominating their own candidates to contest the national elections to curb the problem but to no avail.
Bougainville’s National MP’s have most often than not operated outside of the ABG’s purview to disburse their District Services Improvement Program and Provincial Services Improvement Program funds. This has caused a lack of coordination for the provision of government services on Bougainville with the National MP’s having their own priorities outside of the ABG’s.
However, President Toroama has encouraged a more democratized approach to the national elections but reminded the people to vote for a leader who will work with the ABG and fight for Bougainville’s political aspirations on independence.
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