Margaret Vagi appointed Acting Electoral Commissioner amid retirement-age controversy

Acting Electoral Commissioner Margaret Vagi (Image: Supplied)

Margaret Vagi has been appointed Acting Electoral Commissioner, following confirmation in Parliament that current Commissioner Simon Sinai has surpassed the compulsory retirement age of 60.

The Electoral Commission Appointments Committee selected Mrs Vagi, who currently serves as Operations Director and brings extensive experience ahead of the 2027 national election, to fill the role. Prime Minister James Marape announced her appointment in Parliament on Wednesday.

The appointment comes as questions intensify over the true age of Commissioner Sinai. His four-year term, issued in December 2021, is due to expire next month.

Prime Minister Marape told Parliament that records presented to the Appointments Committee indicated Sinai had reached 60, which limited him to a shorter contract of four years.

“The Electoral Commissioner has reached an age where it was appropriate for his appointment. Unlike others who would have received a six-year contract, we curtailed it to four years, or ended it when the age hits 60,” Marape said. “I confirm that records before the Committee show he has reached 60.”

Outgoing Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai has reached retirement age, says Madang MP Brian Kramer (Image: Supplied)

Madang MP Bryan Kramer raised concerns over inconsistencies in Sinai’s date of birth, alleging that the Commissioner has presented three different birth years: 1962, 1965, and 1968. Kramer cited official records from the Department of Personnel Management listing Sinai’s birth date as 25 November 1962, making him already beyond the retirement threshold.

Kramer told Parliament that in October 2024, Sinai produced a new NID birth certificate claiming he was born in 1965, and later, following further scrutiny in 2025, submitted another certificate claiming a birth year of 1968. He added that Sinai publicly insisted he was 57 and denied knowledge of the false and malicious documents he had submitted.

As Chair of the Electoral Commission Appointments Committee, Kramer pressed Marape on the legality of Sinai’s continued service.

“Given Section 14 bars anyone from acting after the age of 60, and departmental records show Mr Sinai was born in 1962, on what lawful authority does he continue to act?” he asked.

“Will the Prime Minister request the tabling of the original departmental records, payroll data, driver’s licence, and multiple NID certificates, including those now publicly disowned by Mr Sinai?”