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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Experts for Bougainville Elections

12 May 2005

Commonwealth experts will be present for the Elections for the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Papua New Guinea, which will begin on 20 May 2005. The experts begin work on Monday 16 May 2005.

The experts are:

Mr Howard Cayenne   
Chief Election Officer
Trinidad and Tobago

Ms Juliet Solomon
Special Adviser
Political Affairs Division
Commonwealth Secretariat

Mr Albert Mariner
Political Adviser
Political Affairs Division
Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth experts, appointed by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, will join three experts appointed by the Pacific Islands Forum and two by New Zealand to form an Expert Team. Ratu Epeli Nalaitikau, Speaker of the Parliament of the Fiji Islands, has been invited to lead the Team. The New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) has provided financial support to cover the cost of the Expert Team.

Australia and Japan have also been invited to send observers and the Team will work closely with them as part of the overall international observation effort in Bougainville. The United Nations will provide logistical assistance and will co-ordinate briefings and security arrangements.

The experts will be briefed by the representatives of the election management bodies, the candidates and civil society organisations. They will observe preparations for the elections, the polling, counting and results process and the overall electoral environment.

The decision to send the Commonwealth experts follows an invitation from the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea in April 2005.

Note to Editors:

The members of the Expert Team will submit a report to the Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum. The Secretaries-General will in turn send the Team's report to the Government of Papua New Guinea, the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the election authorities and Governments which are members of the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum. It will then be made public. The members of the Expert Team have been invited in their individual capacities and the views they express regarding the elections will be their own and not those either of their respective Governments or of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Constitution of Bougainville was formally adopted on 14 January 2005. These are the first elections for the Autonomous Bougainville Government, as provided for in the Constitution.

For media enquiries please contact Juliet Solomon at +44 780 8295998.

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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6385/6 Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081
Email: info@commonwealth.int