trail in PNG

The video campaign trail in PNG

A unique election campaign has been held in Papua New Guinea, leading up to the coun try’s third general election, with voting being polled between June 13 and July 4, after July PIM has gone to press.

The campaign is unique in its use of video and television to reach Papua New Guinea’s three million voters, 80 per cent of whom are illiterate.

The campaign was master minded by Electoral Commis sioner Luke Lucas, who took office in September 1986. With more than 1500 candidates ex pected to stand for the 109 seats in the National Parlia ment, Mr Lucas felt that the standard ballot paper was hopelessly inadequate to en sure an honest election.

New ballot papers were drawn up, which carried full face photographs of all candi dates for each seat, with a

smaller photo of the party lead er to whom they are aligned.

Parliament approved the ballot papers only 10 weeks before the election was due to begin.

Faced with the task of ex plaining the ballot papers to the widely scattered voters, Mr Lucas felt that the only thing to do was to present the campaign visually.

Accordingly, a 30-minute video was prepared, which took voters through the process step by step. Sixty nine teams were assembled and taught how to use and maintain the latest video equipment, and the cam paign was launched, using helicopters, canoes, four-wheel drive and foot patrol to distri bute the electoral message.

Using hand-cranked genera tors, the teams have covered the most isolated valleys, hills and remote islands throughout Papua New Guinea. The popu

lation has flocked to see the video, people following the teams for a second or third viewing. Orators call the news from ridgetop to ridgetop, and an estimated one-third to one half the local populations have seen the video.

The response has been phenomenal, and the organ isers insist that although the main attraction is the television, the electoral message is getting across to the people. Problems have been slight, with the occasional need for police pro tection in areas where tribal fighting is heavy.

At the time of going to press, the election is between three parties, Prime Minister Paias Wingti’s People’s Democratic Movement with 77 candidates, Michael Somare’s Pangu Pati fielding 105 candidates, and Sir Julius Chan’s People’s Progress Party with 89 candidates. Only 19 candidates are women and only 97 sitting members have been endorsed out of the total 1513 candidates standing for election.