TRANSPARENCY A PRIORITY FOR PSC AND OEC
By: Joshua Lafoa’i
The Office of the Electoral Commission, (OEC) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) are united when it comes to the transparency, integrity and honesty of public servants with political aspiration by declaring their Electoral Candidacy in the coming Elections.
Commissioner of the OEC, Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio, says the collaboration between the PSC and OEC is integral to keeping a transparent and accountable process through to the elections in 2021.
For the public service, an official PSC Circular Memorandum has been issued to remind all potential candidates of the dates to resign from their public service duties in Government Ministries, enterprises or organizations.
The letter addressed to CEOs of Government Ministries on August 4, 2020 reads;
“In accordance with the amended Electoral Act 2019, section 11 Requirements for Public Servants intending to become Candidates, the commission advises that the closing date for nominations for the General Elections 2021 is the 23rd of October 2020.”
The letter then highlighted that by 25 September, 2020, all potential running candidates should have resigned from their employment.
The Commissioner of the OEC called it a must that all potential candidates are detached from their governmental roles and duties six months prior to the official General Elections.
“The whole point of this law was to protect the integrity of the public service, and to ensure that it remains independent from or for political influence,” Faimalotumua says.
“We are trying to avoid persons of power in Government positions now, from being able to use that influence to forward their political agenda or for campaigning,” he added.
“The law protects the independence of the role of the public serviceman or woman,” he said.
The Commissioner says the amendment to the Electoral Act sits well with the goal of transparency and fairness in the public service arena.
