Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat
Excelling together towards a progressive and prosperous Melanesia
MSG Election Observer Report Officially handed over to
the SIEC in Honiara
Head of Delegation of the MSGOG Ratu Inoke Kubuabola handing over the MSG Election Observer Report to the Chairman of the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission, Honourable Patteson J Oti at the National Parliament of Solomon Islands in Honiara Friday 31 May 2019
05 June 2019
The Melanesian Spearhead Observer Group (MSGOG) took the lead had officially handed over to the Chairman of the Solomon Islands Election Commission (SIEC) its Report on the 2019 National General Elections at the National Parliament in Honiara Solomon Islands.
In handing over the Observer Report, the Head of Delegation of the MSG Observer Group, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola expressed his appreciation on behalf of the MSG Members to the Solomon Islands Government for their invitation to participate in observing the 2019 National General Elections.
The Head of Delegation, said that the National General Elections in the country was conducted peacefully and in accordance with due process and that the outcome was fully embraced by the people. He said, while there could be some isolated challenges to the process that may requires further strengthening, overall the success stories of this election have been overwhelming.
The four member MSGOG comprised of a representative each from MSG Member States. The MSGOG was led by Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Fiji, Leonard Louma a former Diplomat and Senior Civil Servant of Papua New Guinea, Martin Tete who is the Chairman of the Vanuatu Electoral Commission and Rodrigue Tiavouane FLNKS in New Caledonia. The MSGOG was able to be dispatched out into 3 groups throughout the country. One group observed Honiara City Constituencies, the second group observed the Western province and the third Group Observed the Makira Constituencies. The MSGOG were given sets of checklists and the basic observer expectations of ensuring that the environment during the polling was free and fair.
The findings of each of the teams are relatively similar, thus resembling commonality of experiences. The relatively 80% voter turnout in all the constituencies visited depict the willingness of the citizens to participate meaningfully in the democratically process of the country.
The access to peoples voting rights was never obstructed while the impact of tough penalties to election breaches as stipulated in the Electoral Act 2018 was even felt at the remote areas visited coupled with the high visible presence of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force personnel.
Ratu Inoke explained that the report has been able to identify several salient issues including recommendations aimed at assisting the SIEC on preparations for future National General Elections.
The MSGOG understand that the SIEC will produce a final report to the Solomon Islands Government after receiving all the Observer Reports from all participating International, Regional and Local Observer groups that participated in observing the National General Elections on 3 April 2019.
The Chairman of the SIEC Honourable Patteson J Oti received the MSGOG report on behalf of the Government of Solomon Islands.
Meanwhile the Director General of the MSG Secretariat Ambassador Amena Yauvoli congratulated the MSGOG for their commitment in ensuring that the Observer Mission to Solomon Islands Elections was a success and also for ensuring timely presentation of the Observer Report to the Solomon Islands Government.
For more information please contact: Christopher Waiwori – Senior Executive Officer