there will be tears before bedtime

 Queuing at the polling station

 voting booths

 police candidate

The Mayor's car

The elections start and you would think that the flying foxes knew, they are wheeling about in the morning sunshine like juvenile pterodactyls.  Down on the ground the polling station outside the office had been due to open at 6.00 am but eventually made it for 10 o’clock with an orderly queue coming in past the gate and a forest of candidates posters ( and which legally should be 200 metres away).  Posters and banners all over town and a big one outside the police station recommending their favoured man ( no pressure you understand). Lots of people disenfranchised by not being on the electoral register causing some heartache. I had been quite impressed last year when the register was being compiled – every house and shack everywhere and in all the settlements being visited.  It seems that the initial registers had to go to the Capital for properly sorting out and checking so that when it came back to Madang it was unrecognisable.  Still it seems to have been the same all over the Country and I guess with a random loss of names should not really affect the results.

Last weekend the mayor (still waiting for his ‘forged signature’ trial) was arrested after (allegedly) torching the car of one of the candidates – he was gentleman enough to let the two ladies inside it  get out before setting it ablaze but I trust he will have to pay for another car.  The candidate in question I have had a few meetings with and am certain that he would sell his grandmother for a bag of peanuts but there we are!

The counting in Madang will start on Saturday I’m told, in two different buildings for the two seats being contested and with the 80 or so candidates and the preferential voting it could take some time. One venue is at the Catholic church in the compound that backs onto my house so could be exciting if all the supporters turn up to give their candidate their moral (and maybe physical?) support.