A former Solomon Islands prime minister, Sir Francis Billy Hilly, is to lead a team of observers from the Melanesian Spearhead Group to the Papua New Guinea elections next month.
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The Melanesian Spearhead Group headquarters in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Photo: RNZI / Jamie Tahana
The MSG team will also include a former Fiji president, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, and election officials from Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands along with a member of the political bureau of the FLNKS in New Caledonia.
Another team, the Commonwealth Observer Group, is to be led by former New Zealand governor general, Sir Anand Satyanand.
The Commonwealth secretary-general, Patricia Scotland, says she is sending a 12-member observer mission after an invitation from the PNG government.
Polling is to start on 24th June, and take place over a 10-day period.