Bougainville's Electoral Commissioner said voting on Friday had gone smoothly. Photo: Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner - OBEC
Bougainville Attorney-General Ezekial Massatt says the start of general election vote counting has been delayed for two days due to weather disruptions.
The autonomous Papua New Guinea region went to the polls on Friday, with voting extended through to Saturday in some areas to allow all eligible voters to cast their ballots.
The count had been expected to start on Tuesday.
"We had major flooding on the mainland and consequently many of the ballot boxes could not be moved," Massatt told Pacific Waves.
He said the Electoral Commissioner Desmond Tsianai expected the ballot boxes to be moved on Wednesday when roads clear up, with counting to begin on Thursday.
There are over 239,000 registered voters in the region, where independence remains a key issue.
Tsianai said voting on Friday, which ran from 9am to 5pm NZ time, had gone smoothly.
"Through patience, respect, and active participation, voters have ensured that this election is conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and credible manner," he said.
Polling had been scheduled to begin last Thursday, but was pushed back to Friday to allow time to dispatch ballot papers.
In addition, Tsianai said there were some quality control issues concerning serial numbers.
"These are an important safeguard against fraud. We, therefore, took measures to ensure that these issues were rectified, so that electoral integrity was assured."
