Bougainville referendum officer confident of smooth vote

Bougainville's Chief Referendum Officer is sounding quietly confident, days out from the autonomous Papua New Guinea region's independence vote.

Mauricio Claudio has helped run elections in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. He has also worked in Bougainville previously, having supported the 2015 local elections, and 2017 national elections.

He says that in its preparation, the Bougainville Referendum Commission has raised the bar of PNG electoral standards in a number of ways.

These include enrolling voters outside the national boundaries and introducing provisional voting.

The referendum is the ultimate provision of 2001's Bougainville Peace Agreement, which formally ended hostilities from a civil war which raged through the 1990s.

Mr Claudio told Johnny Blades that after a late start, the BRC has done all it can to ensure a smooth referendum.