Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission PNGEC Website - Election 2022

The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission (PNG EC) website is offline right after the last election. This year, it seems, they are operating from their Facebook page. 

But, for a statutory body, it is a no brainer to have a working website, let alone during the election period.

The website is NOT ONLY an important tool for gathering election 2022 data and communicating information at this time, but also a vital information source for future elections.

PNG EC should get its website back online. Wondered where to get the updated PNG Electoral Common Roll?

Latest deferral of the Opening of Nominations and what dates are changing - read the updates

(Follow-up note: After this article, the PNG EC website is back online)

• With Peter O'Neill and James Marape on the campaign trails, who are the 'dark horses' in the race for the PM seat after the 2022 election? See the latest article on the best candidate for PNG's PM role.

Why PNG EC website is offline?

The main reason the website is offline is simply that the PNG EC is unable to host it successfully.

You'd think they should get it online by now when they already have a functioning URL. Not only that, they are on Google search results, too. Out of 230,000 search appearances, PNG EC website is number 1 and rightfully it should!

PNG EC is the body that should have its own website at this time. 

Social media and Facebook pages are not the right places to store, manipulate, analyse and retrieve election data. Social media are only sharing platforms. 

Election data is important.

Why PNG EC should run its website?

For a statutory body like PNG EC ( and especially during the election), it is vital to get the website online.

A good website can help the electoral commission do many things Facebook cannot do, both on the FRONT HAND and BACKHAND.

Also, a website can help the EC collect and relay information in real-time. 

Above all, the PNG EC website is the primary channel of information for all election-related events, not the news sites or Facebook. 

Click here for all the latest commentaries and updates on election 2022

How PNG EC can get the website back online

The website is a powerful communication tool, therefore the PNG EC must get it back online, going into the 2022 National General Elections.

If you click on the PNG EC links on Google, this is what you get...

A 404 error simply shows that the PNG EC website is offline. 

As mentioned, the EC already has a URL. Also, they have the website database with their previous company that host its website in 2017. 

It is a matter of getting a backup from them. And, securely host the website. 

In fact, there are different levels of hosting services and server capabilities available. As for the PNG EC website, the second or third level hosting (referred to as the cloud) would be enough. 

It can cost a couple of thousand US dollars to get it up. They do NOT have to spend K100,000 to get make it work.

It's not like creating a new website, it should be quick and easy. Here is how to get the website back online.

What the electoral commission is saying about its website

The PNG EC is saying that they are re-designing the website. Here is what appears on the search.

''The website of the Electoral Commission of Papua New Guinea is currently being redesigned. Access to past PNGEC data is hence limited at the moment. Please reach out to our team via social media...'' Google Cache snippet 08/05/2022

This message has been up since the website went offline right after the 2017 elections. So it has been 5 years.

PNG EC needs a website 

There is no reason or excuse valid enough to justify why the PNG EC website is still OFFLINE. 

This statutory body needs a website for the election for gathering data and disseminating information to the public. And also for assessing the data from the 2022 elections.

PNG EC should not depend on Facebook alone.