PNG tops Fiji election funding

Fiji got major funding from Papua New Guinea to run its  last elections.  Fiji has praised the Papua New Guinean government  for its unrivalled contributions towards Fiji’s elections this year. In a radio interview aired on Radio New Zealand yesterday, Fijian Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said that Fiji held PNG at the top of its list of friends after recent financial records were disclosed in Fiji’s parliament detailing the amounts contributed toward Fiji’s elections which were held in September earlier this year. Mr Saneem said that PNG’s contribution eclipsed all contributions by other nations. While explaining how pleased Fiji’s electoral office and election officials were, he told New Zealand national radio that PNG contributed a total of US$18.5 million, an amount that he said was more than the final expense of the entire election that amounted to only US$12.2 million. Furthermore, he said that the mentioned amount given by PNG was twice as much as the Fijian government’s election provisional funding which only amounted to US$9 million. He stated that this was the first bloodless democratic election that Fiji had underwent in more than eight years adding that the mammoth sized importance of the elections was only made a success because of the monetary aid from Fiji’s island friends. The Supervisor of Elections who saw to the successful completion of the elections and the inevitable declaration of Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that Papua New Guinea’s contributions to Fiji were unquestionable and complete. He also said that PNG demonstrated what was and should always be, ‘The Melanesian Way.’ “The way that our island brothers in Papua New Guinea give without holding back is true testament to the Melanesian ways of ‘Gutpla Pasin’ and I encourage and hope that more coutries will do as PNG has done,” said Mr Saneem.