The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Australian Government, continues to strengthen the capacity of Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) and its Secretariat Office in the preparation for the Choiseul and Western Provincial Assembly Elections 2022, (PAE). The two organizations are also supporting SIEC with its preparations for the Biometric Voter Registration update for Choiseul and Western Province and the National General Election.
Given the geographical and population features of constituencies in Western and Choiseul Provinces, the Solomon Islands Electoral Office needs outboard motor boats (OBMs) to implement electoral operations. Thereby, UNDP, through its Strengthening the Electoral Cycle in the Solomon Islands Project (SECSIP III), and Australia handed over two OBM with two Boats and lifesaving gears1.
The OBM boats will generate significant savings for the Electoral Office as their staff travels to the Western province to train the temporary electoral officials and conduct voter awareness training for the upcoming Choiseul and Western Provincial Assembly Elections.
As part of this handover, the Electoral Office received PPE items, Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) stationery kits, IT equipment, and voter awareness materials etc.