Ballot boxes arriving from outside provinces in Bougainville Photo: Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner - OBEC
Ballot counting for the 2025 Bougainville general election began today, the electoral chief of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region has confirmed.
Vote counting was delayed twice this week - first on Tuesday due to major flooding, and again on Thursday evening due to the late arrival of ballot boxes from five provinces.
Bougainville electoral commissioner Desmond Tsianai told RNZ Pacific that counting would begin at 8am local time on Friday (9am NZ time), and writs would need to be returned by 22 September.
Tsianai said there had been an overwhelming response to the general election across all regions in Bougainville.
Polling - initially scheduled for 4 September - was rescheduled to the following day, with voting extended through Saturday to ensure all eligible voters had the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Tsianai said he was confident that counting would finish by 22 September, as planned.
There are over 239,000 registered voters in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region, where independence remains a key issue.
The first load of ballots cast by Bougainvilleans outside Bougainville landed back in Buka at 4:30pm local time on 11 September, and was taken to secure storage at the Buka police station, according to the Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner. Photo: Facebook / Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner - OBEC
