ULAWA/UGI constituency in Makira province will likely to see a tough contest between the only three candidates contesting the more than five thousand people on the islands.
FORMER Ulawa/Ugi Member of Parliament James Tora is seeking his three and a half term in parliament whilst facing a good opposition from his two contenders Willie Marau and Dr Fredrick Rohorua.
Latest reports from the constituency revealed Tora is still having the upper hand with a good support coming from his island of Ugi.
However it was reported he might lose his support on Ulawa given his false promises this year to his supporters that are likely to turn against him.
“This guy has a very strong support from his island of Ugi. This is his stronghold and it would be very difficult for other candidates to win the minds of these people,” our reporter, Carlos Aruafu said in an interview on Monday.
Mr Aruafu who has just returned from Ulawa said politics is the hottest topic in all the communities around the islands.
Asked what the situation is like, Mr Aruafu said it is very tense as the two candidates contesting to unseat Tora are working very hard.
“But from observation and what people say, it is between Willie Marau and Tora. These two candidates are the talk of the day for rural people back home,” Mr Aruafu said.
Aruafu said Tora might lose most of his support from Ulawa since he failed to honour his promise to his supporters on Ulawa Island.
“These are words coming from the mouth of people on the ground, but we will see what the outcome will be on polling day,” Mr Aruafu said
He said this would give Mr Marau an upper hand of support on the island of Ulawa.
However he said it is unlikely the two other candidates contesting against Tora will win a good number of votes from the island of Ugi.
It was reported Mr Marau had already launched his campaign over the weekend in Ulawa.
Tora on the other hand will launch his campaign today in Ulawa whilst Rohorua is expected to launch his campaign by the end of the week.
By DANIEL NAMOSUAIA