Electoral Commission faces staffing shortages ahead of 2027 elections

The Special Parliamentary Committee on Elections has heard that many Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission staff have reached the compulsory retirement age or are on short-term contracts.

Electoral Commissioner Dr Nicole Haley revealed this at the committee’s public hearing in Port Moresby recently.

Appearing before the committee for the first time, Dr Haley provided an update on preparations for the 2027 elections.

She said staffing was a major concern and a longstanding challenge for the Commission.

According to Dr Haley, the Commission has 105 established positions, of which 33 are vacant, while 12 staff have exceeded the compulsory retirement age.

“A lot of our election manager positions, they're certainly the most senior positions in the provinces, so you know, let's probably say that they're in leadership roles,” Dr Haley said.

The Commission also employs 99 casual staff, some of whom have worked for more than 10 years.

Dr Haley said the Commission was considering succession planning by moving experienced staff into vacant positions and seconding personnel from other government agencies.

“They call them semi-permanent; these are casual staff that some of whom have been employed in the Electoral Commission for 10 and 15 years.

“They've just been on continual contracts because the Electoral Commission hasn't done a proper establishment review during that time. It clearly needs more positions than it has,” Dr Haley said.

Going forward, the Electoral Commission is working with the Department of Personnel Management to review its organisational structure in preparation for the 2027 elections, which is now about six months away.