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South Pacific Electoral Administrators Conference

PALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Service): October 3, 1997 - A Conference for the South Pacific Electoral Administrators and officials is scheduled to be held in Suva, Fiji, from October 8 to 10, 1997, according to the FSM National Election Office.

FSM has been invited to attend and to participate in the Conference. The FSM National Election Director has designated Assistant Director Heinrick A. Stevenson and National Election Commissioner for the State of Kosrae Ken Olter to represent the FSM.

Stevenson has been allotted one hour and twenty minutes to make his presentation and also been designated to lead a discussion session on the topic, 'Structure of Election Administration'. Other panel members will include Assistant Secretary Lenest Lanki, Ministry of Internal and Social Welfare, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Assistant Secretary General Kakee Pese Kaitu, Office of Prime Minister, Government of Tuvalu and the Ben Reilly from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Switzerland.

The FSM will have an opportunity to get acquainted with many good sources of electoral assistance programs to be presented in the conference, Stevenson stated.

The three-day conference will address such topics as the role of an independent electoral administrator, structure of electoral administration, electoral system of the South Pacific, voters registration, election networking, conducting cost-effective and efficient election, voter education and information, and vote counting and tabulation.

The conference is funded by these organizations: Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; The Commonwealth Secretariat; The South Pacific Forum Secretariat; the New Zealand Chief Electoral Officer, and The Australian Government Organizations, Stevenson concluded.