Director of the VEO, Johnson Iati, said the electoral commission is currently conducting background checks on every applicant to determine their eligibility to contest.
The electoral commission will screen every applicant as they must comply with the country’s law on elections.
Candidates have to be a minimum of 25 years old and cannot have an undischarged prison sentence or bankruptcy, or owe government and provinces any monies.
It takes a period of 20 days for the screening process between the closing and declaration of candidates.
