PNG Electoral Commission

PRESS RELEASE

Monday June 15, 2026

ENB SIGNS MOA WITH ELECTORAL COMMISSION

EAST New Britain (ENB) is the third province to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the PNG Electoral Commission to work together in delivering a successful National Elections in 2027.

Acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi, ENB Provincial Administrator Mr Levi Mano and Election Manager ENB Mr Joab Woiwoi signed the MOA at the PNG Electoral Office today.

“These partnerships will support and fix the electoral roll and help secure a clean roll for the upcoming election,” acting Commissioner Vagi said.

“The MOA signifies the partnership between both parties to ensure we deliver on time.”

It covers key areas of collaboration including the engagement of LLG Coordinators who are the LLG Managers and also ward recorders who will be engaged as enrolment agents.

They will be responsible for the roll update and be part of the Ward Enrolment Committees (WECs) who will verify elector details during the roll update exercise.

Encouraging all eligible voters, including youths, to enroll, update and verify their details, Acting Commissioner Vagi reiterated that the roll update will end in December with the completion of an updated electoral roll for the 2027 national elections.

Provincial Administrator Mr Levi Mano said, while congratulating Vagi on her appointment said they are happy for the support of the PNGEC technical team and staff.

“This has culminated in the signing of this agreement to formalise the partnership we have always had in the past, but which is a bit different with the new changes we have made to update the roll and deliver elections,”

“We have a lot of challenges…but on behalf of our Provincial Election Steering Committee (PEAC), we assure that we will do all we can to ensure that the responsibilities contained in the MOA are met to help deliver a successful election outcome for us all,” he said.

Mr Mano said his administration had been keenly observant of many changes that are happening describing these positive changes as ‘very encouraging’.

He said: ‘we will help run and meet the electoral duties on the ground with the help and support of your technical officers’.

Reiterating on the Photo Roll Exercise, acting Commissioner Vagi said this will be rolled out to all 22 provinces starting with selected urban areas for now.

The PNGEC is currently undertaking a Roll Update and Verification Exercise from May to November. It is encouraging to see that all eligible electors including youths are showing interest to enroll, and current voters to check and verify their details on the electoral roll.

After issue of the National Gazette confirming her extension for another six months last week, the acting Commissioner and deputy traveled to the highlands where they held consultations on the electoral boundaries and signed MOA’s with the first two provinces of Western Highlands and Jiwaka.

APPROVED BY
Margaret Vagi
Acting Electoral Commissioner

PICTURE CAPTIONS

Picture 1:

ENB Provincial Administrator Mr Levi Mano and acting electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi displaying the signed MOA.

Picture 2:

PNGEC Operations Manager NGI Justine Pantumari, ENB Provincial Legal Officer Peter Vaninara, ENB Election Manager Joab Woiwoi, ENB Provincial Administrator Levi Mano, acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi, Deputy Electoral Commissioner Kila Vaname and PNGEC acting Director Operations Bura Mano, after the MOA signing at the Mileng Conference room, PNGEC Head Office, Hohola, NCD.

Picture 3:

NGI Operations Manager Justine Pantumari (closest), ENB Provincial Legal Officer Peter Vaninara and Provincial Administrator Levi Mano sharing a light moment during yesterday’s MOA signing that formalizes the partnership between PNGEC and ENB to deliver election 2027.

Picture 4:

Reappointed acting electoral commissioner Margaret Vagi and Deputy Electoral Commissioner Kila Vaname during yesterday’s MOA signing with ENB Provincial Administration. ENB becomes the third province to sign an MOA following Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces last week

East New Britain, the third Province to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC).

PNGEC picture below;

Provincial Administrator – East New Britain, Mr Levi Mano signing the MOA with acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi at the PNGEC Head office today

Jiwaka and Western Highlands lead the way in MoA Signing

To secure a clean electoral roll, Jiwaka and the Western Highlands have officially become the first two provinces in Papua New Guinea to sign Memorandum of Agreement with the PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC). The goal of this new partnership is to support and fix the electoral roll, so that the upcoming election is clean, transparent, and completely fair.

Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi explained that while past agreements with the provinces were just informal handshakes, this new document is a strict, legally binding contract.

“Electoral Commission always gets blamed by the public when the voter lists are messy or full of errors. With this agreement, we are shifting that responsibility back to the local communities. Outside officials will no longer control the data. Instead, local village leaders, ward recorders, and Ward Enrolment Committee (WEC) must physically check and sign off on every single name in their village, meaning local communities will truly own the electoral roll.”

While both provinces share the exact same goal under this contract, they are dealing with very different financial situations on the ground.

Provincial Administrator for Jiwaka, Rick Kogen announced that his province has set aside K300,000 entirely from their own local tax revenues to support Provincial Election Manager Ms Rosie Pandihau, thus Jiwaka's teams can legally start training and field operations next month. Mr. Kogen said the K300,000 offered it's not the limit to support the Jiwaka Provincial Electoral office. They will still provide support in other areas such as logistics, manpower, technical advice and additional programs that need assistance.

In contrast, Western Highlands Provincial Administrator Joseph Mangbil said his province is fully ready to help, but he issued a sharp warning about a lack of cash.

Mangbil criticized the national government for treating elections like a sudden emergency. He argued that even though everyone knows elections happen predictably every five years, the government waits until the last minute to scramble for funds instead of budgeting money annually. He warned that when there is a lack of money, transport cars break down, police security drops, and the election becomes highly unsafe. To fix this gap, Western Highlands leaders are currently asking local Members of Parliament (MPs) to chip in money from their district budgets to support the roll enrolment update.

Acting Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Margaret Vagi said, “The actual work to clean up and finalize these electors’ lists will roll out in three clear stages later this year. In July, local workers will be trained and will go house-to-house in the villages to collect correct names and take photos of voters. From October to November, a rough draft of the list will be sent back to the villages so everyday citizens can check it to make sure their names are not missing or spelled wrong. By December, the voter list will be locked for good. No more changes can be made, which allows the teams to stop dealing with paperwork and focus entirely on safety and planning for voting day.”

A major worry hanging over this whole project is a massive funding gap. The national government gave K50 million to the Electoral Commission, but money is mostly tied up in big-ticket items.

The Deputy Electoral Commissioner, Ms. Kila Vaname, praised the decisive action, thanking Mr. Kogen and Mr. Mangbil for signing the MoA to support and bridge the funding and logistical gaps.

PNGEC picture (1) below;

Western Highlands Provincial Administrator Joseph Mangbil (middle in blue suit) next to acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi, Deputy Electoral Commissioner Kila Vaname (standing) observing Election Manager Western Highlands Philip Telape sorting out the papers for MoA signing yesterday

PNGEC picture (2) below;

Provincial Administrator Jiwaka,Rick Kogen (black suit) with acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi, flanked by Deputy Electoral Commissioner Kila Vaname, and Election Manager Rosie Pandihau at during the MoA signing yesterday.