Provincial Peaceful Elections Specialist

Update

National elections have been held in Papua New Guinea at regular intervals since independence in 1975. The quality of those elections, however, has declined over recent years. The level of electoral violence, particularly in the Highlands region, are a growing concern for both the national government and its international development partners. The persistent malapportionment of electoral constituencies has created glaring infringements of the right to equal representation. Gaps in adequate and timely financing for the elections have been filled, sometimes at the last minute, by Papua New Guinea’s international development partners, while the remaining gaps and delays have simply compromised the quality and credibility of the elections, thereby compromising the legitimacy of the elected governments.

The United Nations has played a limited direct role in previous elections in the country, mainly in the areas of coordination of international observers and supporting the preparation of cadres of women candidates, though it has played an increasingly important role in promoting a peaceful environment for recent elections, primarily with funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund. According to the United Nations’ Electoral Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), which visited the country in April 2023, and project design consultations undertaken in 2025, there appears to be broad cross-party acceptance of UN electoral assistance and the need for the upcoming elections to be transparent and inclusive.

In anticipation of the upcoming Parliamentary elections in 2027 in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and in response to a request from the Government of Papua New Guinea in 2022, the United Nations in PNG is initiating a new electoral support joint initiative, “Support to Peaceful Elections in PNG (SPE), convened by UNDP and implemented in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women. Alongside assistance to the PNG Elections Commission (at the national level) by the Australian Electoral Commission, the New Zealand Electoral Commission, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the new UN initiative seeks to address critical gaps, especially in relation to the PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) at provincial level (alongside provincial electoral advisory bodies) and to other key institutions for mitigating violence and resolving disputes in the electoral sphere such as the Integrity of Political Parties & Candidates Commission (IPPCC), the security forces, the Courts, and the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG).

The development of SPE PNG (2026-2027) follows the report of the UN Electoral Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) conducted in April 2023 following the request for technical assistance from the Government of Papua New Guinea. The project has been developed taking into con-sideration the recommendations outlined by the NAM to ensure the UN can continue to support the electoral process in Papua New Guinea. In line with the NAM recommendations, the new project is centered around three main strategic areas:

· Outcome 1 – Peace: Reduced tensions and disputes regarding the electoral process through the establishment or strengthening of mechanisms contributing to conflict prevention and mitigation.

· Outcome 2 – Inclusion: Improved participation, representation and empowerment of women, youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, isolated populations, and other historically marginalized groups through activities intended to foster participation and ownership of the electoral processes and increase operational know-how to ensure the safety and sustainability of inclusive participation.

· Outcome 3 – Capacity: Strengthening the capacity and preparedness of the PNGEC – particularly at the provincial level - the security forces, the IPPCC, and other key stakeholders to effectively administer the electoral processes in a credible manner through procurement support and technical assistance, with the latter focused on areas that will help decrease the need for future assistance.

Under the direct supervision of Chief Technical Adviser, Support to Peaceful Elections Project, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

o Provide technical support to Provincial Elections Managers and other provincial and regional electoral stakeholders (including e.g. Provincial Administrations) in elections preparations, with a focus on priority hotspots for elections disputes. This may include:

§ Logistical and technical support to Provincial Elections Steering Committees

§ Election preparation support to Provincial Elections Managers (including information distribution planning, civic education and awareness planning, operational planning and coordination

§ Coordination with community and traditional leaders, ward counsellors and district representatives, civil society and faith-based actors

o Monitor elections preparations and prepare regular briefings for the United Nations and UNDP Senior Management

o Prepare regular briefings for Peaceful Elections Situation Room and other monitoring initiatives

o Provide coordination support for provincial activities with Participating United Nations Organizations of the Support to Peaceful Elections joint project (UN Women and UN Human Rights (OHCHR)) as well as coordination with other UN programme teams on the ground as needed

o Support partnership management with key electoral stakeholders (such as the PNG Electoral Commission, the Registry of Political Parties, Provincial Administrations, relevant provincial offices of Government of PNG Departments etc.)

o Support to project indicator monitoring

o Drafting donor reports and communications materials

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

· Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);

· Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;

· Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;

· Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;

· Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers;

· Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.