A Supreme Court reference has been filed over the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission's move to allow voting on a Sunday in the prime minister's electorate.
Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O'Neill casts his vote in the 2017 election in his electorate of Ialibu-Pangia. Photo: PMO Media
Peter O'Neill is leading vote counting for the national election in his Ialibu-Pangia electorate, after polling took place on Sunday 2 July, following two days of delays.
One of the candidates standing against Mr O'Neill in the electorate, Stanley Liria, said it was against the law to have polling on a Sunday and the situation requires Supreme Court interpretation.
He said a lot of the electorate's voters were inconvenienced by polling being re-scheduled, at short notice, to a day when many people have church commitments.
"So ultimately the result that I am seeking is to declare that polling on Sunday is not allowed by law, and is illegal and unconstitutional and effectively would render the ballots cast on Sunday informal and illegal."