BY JOY OFASIA
MORE than 100 international and domestic observers are expected to oversee the 2024 joint election in the Solomon Islands, according to Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Christina Miniti.
“As we speak, we have 196 observers, both international and domestic, that are ready to be briefed and deployed in the field,” she said during the SIEC Talkback Show on SIBC Sunday, March 24. “With 40 observers from Transparency International, were briefed on the code of conduct and election observation requirements last week,” Christina added.
She also noted that the deadline for submitting applications for election observers has been extended until March 31st.
Christina said the Electoral Commission has received and processed applications from various international and domestic organizations.
The international observers, hailing from various countries and organizations, will play a crucial role in ensuring that the elections are free, fair, and transparent. Their presence is aimed at providing an unbiased assessment of the electoral process and safeguarding the integrity of the results, according to SIEC Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner Jasper Highwood Anisi.
“Observers do good work and play a very important role in terms of how the election process is managed and conducted.
“There are academic observers that study the governance and the elections in the country, how they are conducted, and the responses of the people. There are also observers who look specifically at the process. There are also international observers who are to keep an eye on what is happening and could be reported.
“With all this, observers play a very vital role in terms of how elections are managed across the world and the Solomon Islands,” Anisi said.
