S.I.E.C PASSED RESOLUTION TO REVIEW OUT OF CONSTITUENCY VOTING
Chief Electoral Officer Polycarp Haununu. Photo credit: SIBC.
The Electoral Commission has passed a resolution to review out of constituency voting in next year’s electoral legislative reform process.
The Commission had met on Monday to discuss the possibility of casting an ‘out of constituency’ ballot.
Out of constituency voting is available in some countries around the world but has not yet been tried in Solomon Islands.
In a statement last night, the Commission says out of constituency voting will not be permitted during the forthcoming general elections because of legal constraints.
The Commission says it hopes to consider this matter again in the future and has passed a resolution to review this as part of the electoral legislative reform process in 2015.
The National Parliament Electoral Provisions Act makes reference to polling stations being set up “within the electoral constituency.”
The legislation does not cover out of constituency voting.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer Polycarp Haununu said the Commission is listening to the community and a lot of people support out of constituency voting.
Mr Haununu said improving the electoral system is a long term process and the Commission is always considering improvements.