The Governor of Oro province in Papua New Guinea, Gary Juffa, says Prime Minister James Marape encourages “honest debate” and discussion within his government.

The PNG coalition government is made up of 17 parties in an 118-seat Parliament. There are now only nine opposition MPs, after recent switches to government benches.

With so few opposition MPs, concerns have been raised that the opposition cannot effectively hold the government to account.

But Juffa disagrees, telling RNZ Pacific that disagreement and debate are encouraged between government MPs.

“There are MPs who monitor what is happening within government and do hold the government to account, there is a lot of debate and discussion in the government caucus,” he said.

“If the government makes a decision that the other members feel it’s not in the best interest of the country or the people they will voice their concerns.

“And that is actually a very — in my opinion — positive [feature] about the Marape government, the Marape government encourages dissent within his government.

Voicing their concerns
“Our prime minister has allowed people and members of Parliament within the government to be critical, to voice their concerns.

“The past O’Neill government was very harsh towards any criticism, whereas the government of Marape allows criticism, and he has encouraged free media. He has allowed the media or he has encouraged the media to report. We do want the media to report factually.

“If they do report on critical concerns about the government then it is based on facts rather than rumour or rhetoric.

“Well, you know, I was in the opposition for seven years and nothing stopped me from speaking up. There were times when there were only five or four of us, but we still spoke up.

“You know, I think there are some good opposition MPs who were very vocal, and I don’t think it’s everyone joining the government-type situation. I think there are vocal active opposition MPs in Papua New Guinea,” he said.

Juffa, who founded the People’s Movement for Change party, of which he is the sole Member of Parliament, also commented on the government’s response to the violence which erupted during the 2022 election.

“The government has formed a parliamentary committee, chaired by Governor Allan Byrd, and it’s reached out to the Institute of National Affairs and other organisations. I believe they will also be working with the Commonwealth observers and other institutions, organisations that were critical of the elections,” he said.

Most violent election
The poll was described as the most violent in the country’s 47 years of independence, with dozens of people losing their lives.

“So there have been immediate steps taken, I understand that the committee will be funded. It has the support of the executive government and the Prime Minister.

“And efforts are well underway to address and conduct a review of not just these elections, but previous elections and look at ensuring that the 2027 elections are a far more transparent, well-run well managed election than the ones we have seen in the past.”

RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in Papua New Guinea, Scott Waide, said that during polling that the violent extremes reflected wider public frustration in a poorly planned and managed election.

Juffa said unfortunately the reality was that there was a lot yet to be done in many parts of Papua New Guinea, “violence is very much prevailing”.

“Still, during these types of situations, we want to address them, and I believe the prime minister, the police minister and other members of Parliament charged with the responsibility are doing the best they can,” he said.

During the 2022 general election, Papua New Guinea police and electoral authorities were on the verge of declaring failed elections in some parts of the country at one stage where violence had all but halted the electoral process.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Pacific year started with a ferocious eruption and global tsunami in Tonga, but by the year’s end several political upheavals had also shaken the region with a vengeance.

A razor’s edge election in Fiji blew away a long entrenched authoritarian regime with a breath of fresh air for the Pacific, two bitterly fought polls in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu left their mark, and growing geopolitical rivalry with the US and Australia contesting China’s security encroachment in the Solomon Islands continues to spark convulsions for years to come.

It was ironical that the two major political players in Fiji were both former coup leaders and ex-military chiefs — the 1987 double culprit Sitiveni Rabuka, a retired major-general who is credited with introducing the “coup culture” to Fiji, and Voreqe Bainimarama, a former rear admiral who staged the “coup to end all coups” in 2006.

It had been clear for some time that the 68-year-old Bainimarama’s star was waning in spite of repressive and punitive measures that had been gradually tightened to shore up control since an unconvincing return to democracy in 2014.

And pundits had been predicting that the 74-year-old Rabuka, a former prime minister in the 1990s, and his People’s Alliance-led coalition would win. However, after a week-long stand-off and uncertainty, Rabuka’s three-party coalition emerged victorious and Rabuka was elected PM by a single vote majority.

In Samoa the previous year, the change had been possibly even more dramatic when a former deputy prime minister in the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, led her newly formed Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party to power to become the country’s first woman prime minister.

Overcoming a hung Parliament, Mata’afa ousted the incumbent Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who had been prime minister for 23 years and his party had been in power for four decades. But he refused to leave office, creating a constitutional crisis.

At one stage this desperate and humiliating cling to power by the incumbent looked set to be repeated in Fiji.

Yet this remarkable changing of the guard in Fiji got little press in New Zealand newspapers. The New Zealand Herald, for example, buried what could could have been an ominous news agency report on the military callout in Fiji in the middle-of the-paper world news section.

Fiji
Although Bainimarama at first refused to concede defeat after being in power for 16 years, half of them as a military dictator, the kingmaker opposition party Sodelpa sided — twice — with the People’s Alliance (21 seats) and National Federation Party (5 seats) coalition.

Sodelpa’s critical three seats gave the 29-seat coalition a slender cushion over the 26 seats of Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party which had failed to win a majority for the first time since 2014 in the expanded 55-seat Parliament.

But in the secret ballot, one reneged giving Rabuka a razor’s edge single vote majority.

The ousted Attorney-General and Justice Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum – popularly branded as the “Minister of Everything” with portfolios and extraordinary power in the hands of one man – is arguably the most hated person in Fiji.

Sayed-Khaiyum’s cynical “divisive” misrepresentation of Rabuka and the alliance in his last desperate attempt to cling to power led to a complaint being filed with Fiji police, accusing him of “inciting communal antagonism”.

He reportedly left Fiji for Australia on Boxing Day and the police issued a border alert for him while the Home Affairs Minister, Pio Tikoduadua, asked Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho, a former military brigadier-general to resign over allegations of bias and lack of confidence. He refused so the new government will have to use the formal legal steps to remove him.

Just days earlier, Fiji lawyer Imrana Jalal, a human rights activist and a former Human Rights Commission member, had warned the people of Fiji in a social media post not to be tempted into “victimisation or targeted prosecutions” without genuine evidence as a result of independent investigations.

“If we do otherwise, then we are no better than the corrupt regime [that has been] in power for the last 16 years,” she added.

“We need to start off the right way or we are tainted from the beginning.”

However, the change of government unleashed demonstrations of support for the new leadership and fuelled hope for more people-responsive policies, democracy and transparency.

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, academic Dr Sanjay Ramesh commented in an incisive analysis of Fiji politics: “With … Rabuka back at the helm, there is hope that the indigenous iTaukei population’s concerns on land and resources, including rampant poverty and unemployment, in their community will be finally addressed.”

He was also critical of the failure of the Mission Observer Group (MoG) under the co-chair of Australia to “see fundamental problems” with the electoral system and process which came close to derailing the alliance success.

“While the MoG was enjoying Fijian hospitality, opposition candidates were being threatened, intimidated, and harassed by FFP [FijiFirst Party] thugs. The counting of the votes was marred by a ‘glitch’ on 14 December 2022 . . . leaving many opposition parties questioning the integrity of the vote counting process.”

Rabuka promised a “better and united Fiji” in his inaugural address to the nation via government social media platforms.

“Our country is experiencing a great and joyful awakening,” he said. “It gladdens my heart to be a part of it. And I am reminded of the heavy responsibilities I now bear.”

The coalition wasted no time in embarking on its initial 100-day programme and signalled the fresh new ‘open” approach by announcing that Professor Pal Ahluwalia, the Samoa-based vice-chancellor of the regional University of the South Pacific — deported unjustifiably by the Bainimarama government — and the widow of banned late leading Fiji academic Dr Brij Lal were both free to return.

Paul Barker, director of the Institute of National Affairs, discussing why the 2022 PNG elections were so bad. Video: ABC News

Papua New Guinea
Earlier in the year, in August, Prime Minister James Marape was reelected as the country’s leader after what has been branded by many critics as the “worst ever” general election — it was marred by greater than ever violence, corruption and fraud.

As the incumbent, Marape gained the vote of 97 MPs — mostly from his ruling Pangu Pati that achieved the second-best election result ever of a PNG political party — in the expanded 118-seat Parliament. With an emasculated opposition, nobody voted against him and his predecessor, Peter O’Neill, walked out of the assembly in disgust

Papua New Guinea has a remarkable number of parties elected to Parliament — 23, not the most the assembly has had — and 17 of them backed Pangu’s Marape to continue as prime minister. Only two women were elected, including Governor Rufina Peter of Central Province.

In an analysis after the dust had settled from the election, a team of commentators at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre concluded that the “electoral role was clearly out of date, there were bouts of violence, ballot boxes were stolen, and more than one key deadline was missed”.

However, while acknowledging the shortcomings, the analysts said that the actual results should not be “neglected”. Stressing how the PNG electoral system favours incumbents — the last four prime ministers have been reelected — they argued for change to the “incumbency bias”.

“If you can’t remove a PM through the electoral system, MPs will try all the harder to do so through a mid-term vote of no confidence,” they wrote.

“How to change this isn’t clear (Marape in his inaugural speech mooted a change to a presidential system), but something needs to be done — as it does about the meagre political representation of women.”

Vanuatu
In Vanuatu in November, a surprise snap election ended the Vanua’aku Pati’s Bob Loughman prime ministership. Parliament was dissolved on the eve of a no-confidence vote called by opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu.

With no clear majority from any of the contesting parties, Loughman’s former deputy, lawyer and an ex-Attorney-General, Ishmael Kalsakau, leader of the Union of Moderate Parties, emerged as the compromise leader and was elected unopposed by the 52-seat Parliament.

A feature was the voting for Gloria Julia King, the first woman MP to be elected to Vanuatu’s Parliament in a decade. She received a “rapturous applause” when she stepped up to take the first oath of office.

RNZ Pacific staff journalist Lydia Lewis and Port Vila correspondent Hilaire Bule highlighted the huge challenges faced by polling officials and support staff in remote parts of Vanuatu, including the exploits of soldier Samuel Bani who “risked his life” wading through chest-high water carrying ballot boxes.

Tongan volcano-tsunami disaster
Tonga’s violent Hunga Ha’apai-Hunga Tonga volcano eruption on January 15 was the largest recorded globally since the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. It triggered tsunami waves of up to 15m, blanketed ash over 5 sq km — killing at least six people and injuring 19 — and sparked a massive multinational aid relief programme.

The crisis was complicated because much of the communication with island residents was crippled for a long time.

As Dale Dominey-Howes stressed in The Conversation, “in our modern, highly-connected world, more than 95 percent of global data transfer occurs along fibre-optic cables that criss-cross through the world’s oceans.

“Breakage or interruption to this critical infrastructure can have catastrophic local, regional and even global consequences.”

“This is exactly what has happened in Tonga following the volcano-tsunami disaster. But this isn’t the first time a natural disaster has cut off critical submarine cables, and it won’t be the last.”

Covid-19 in Pacific
While the impact of the global covid-19 pandemic receded in the Pacific during the year, new research from the University of the South Pacific provided insight into the impact on women working from home. While some women found the challenge enjoyable, others “felt isolated, had overwhelming mental challenges and some experienced domestic violence”.

Rosalie Fatiaki, chair of USP’s staff union women’s wing, commented on the 14-nation research findings.

“Women with young children had a lot to juggle, and those who rely on the internet for work had particular frustrations — some had to wait until after midnight to get a strong enough signal,” she said.

Around 30 percent of respondents reported having developed covid-19 during the Work From Home periods, and 57 percent had lost a family member or close friend to covid-19 as well as co-morbidities.

She also noted the impact of the “shadow pandemic” of domestic abuse. Only two USP’s 14 campuses in 12 Pacific countries avoided any covid-19 closures between 2020 and 2022.

COP27 climate progress
The results for the Pacific at the COP27 climate action deliberations at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh were disappointing to say the least.

For more than three decades since Vanuatu had suggested the idea, developing nations have fought to establish an international fund to pay for the “loss and damage” they suffer as a result of climate change. Thanks partly to Pacific persistence, a breakthrough finally came — after the conference was abruptly extended by a day to thrash things out.

However, although this was clearly a historic moment, much of the critical details have yet to be finalised.

Professor Steven Ratuva, director of Canterbury University’s Macmillan Brown Pacific Studies Centre, says the increased frequency of natural disasters and land erosion, and rising ocean temperatures, means referring to “climate change” is outdated. It should be called “climate crisis”.

“Of course climate changes, it’s naturally induced seen through weather, but the situation now shows it’s not just changing, but we’re reaching a level of a crisis — the increasing number of category five cyclones, the droughts, the erosion, heating of the ocean, the coral reefs dying in the Pacific, and the impact on people’s lives,” he said.

“All these things are happening at a very fast pace.”

Geopolitical rivalry and West Papua
The year saw intensifying rivalry between China and the US over the Pacific with ongoing regional fears about perceived ambitions of a possible Chinese base in the Solomon Islands — denied by Honiara — but the competition has fuelled a stronger interest from Washington in the Pacific.

The Biden administration released its Indo-Pacific Strategy in February, which broadly outlines policy priorities based on a “free and open” Pacific region. It cites China, covid-19 and climate change — “crisis”, rather — as core challenges for Washington.

Infrastructure is expected to be a key area of rivalry in future. Contrasting strongly with China, US policy is likely to support “soft areas” in the Pacific, such as women’s empowerment, anti-corruption, promotion of media freedom, civil society engagement and development.

The political and media scaremongering about China has prompted independent analysts such as the Development Policy Centre’s Terence Wood and Transform Aqorau to call for a “rethink” about Solomon Islands and Pacific security. Aqorau said Honiara’s leaked security agreement with China had “exacerbated existing unease” about China”.

The Pacific Catalyst founding director also noted that the “increasing engagement” with China had been defended by Honiara as an attempt by the government to diversify its engagement on security, adding that “ it is unlikely that China will build a naval base in Solomon Islands”.

However, the elephant in the room in geopolitical terms is really Indonesia and its brutal intransigency over its colonised Melanesian provinces — now expanded from two to three in a blatant militarist divide and rule ploy — and its refusal to constructively engage with Papuans or the Pacific over self-determination.

“2022 was a difficult year for West Papua. We lost great fighters and leaders like Filep Karma, Jonah Wenda, and Jacob Prai. Sixty-one years since the fraudulent Act of No Choice, our people continue to suffer under Indonesian’s colonial occupation,” reflected exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda in a Christmas message.

“Indonesia continues to kill West Papuans with impunity, as shown by the recent acquittal of the only suspect tried for the “Bloody Paniai’” massacre of 2014.

“Every corner of our country is now scarred by Indonesian militarisation . . . We continue to demand that Indonesia withdraw their military from West Papua in order to allow civilians to peacefully return to their homes.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Eight policemen attached to Mt Hagen police division have been identified as suspects in an election-related shooting that resulted in four people killed and several others wounded on 6 August 2022.

The shooting took place in Anglimp-South Waghi electorate in Jiwaka province and investigations were completed last week.

The alleged shooting caught international media and election observers criticism, triggering the investigation.

Crimes division director Chief Inspector Joel Simatab said that primary reports — including the autopsy, post-mortems, eye witness statements and other evidence — had been compiled.

He said the public must be aware that investigations had been completed.

International observers’ ‘lot of noise’
“At that time we had international observers in the country who made a lot of noise about the security forces involved in the killing,” he said.

“And we responded, sending our detectives — two from NCD [National Capital District] and four from the Highlands region — who carried out the investigations,” he said.

“We want to give assurance that we have done our independent investigations and [are] now working with the Coroner’s office, going through their process to serve [the suspects] to come and give their side of the story before arrests are made.”

It was alleged that youths from the area blocked off the highway over frustrations over how elections were being conducted, which resulted in police shooting at them.

Marjorie Finkeo is a PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Papua New Guinean businessman has been arrested and charged by police as the first of 15 “persons of interest” relating to post national election violence in the Southern Highlands Province earlier this year.

Police have confirmed the unsuccessful candidate for the SHP regional seat, Peter Nupiri, a former chair of PNG Power and a construction business managing director, has been arrested and charged over election-related crimes.

Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed the arrest and charging of Peter Nupiri.

A search warrant was executed by police as confirmed by Commissioner Manning.

“We are not time bound by the elections. If these candidates think that we are, then they are sadly misinformed,” he said.

Police also confirmed a candidate personally presented himself to Commissioner Manning and was interviewed by the Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ascertain whether he was criminally responsible for crimes committed in Mendi, SHP.

He was not charged but will be required if evidence permits.

200 ballot boxes destroyed
Police allege that Nupiri, 46, from Olea village, Mendi, Southern Highlands, communicated with individuals to destroy about 200 ballot boxes that were stored at the Mendi police station.

Police allege his communication via mobile phone to several men led to the six-days violent destruction of Mendi town.

The ballot boxes were stored at the police station after supporters had disputed the counting of the 200 plus ballot boxes.

On August 18, several armed men allegedly entered the premises and fired several gun shots and threatened the duty officers.

They then took control of the premises and opened the two containers where the boxes were kept and took the boxes out and destroyed the ballot boxes by setting them on fire.

The result of the actions taken by the men led to the burning down of properties, killing of 15 people and destruction of other property.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Prime Minister James Marape delivered a shock yesterday when he announced his full cabinet, with coffee, oil palm and livestock — three of PNG’s traditional cash crops — getting their own ministries.

The separate portfolios were created from what used to be the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry in the 32-man cabinet Marape appointed yesterday.

The line-up had several notable omissions, while a few raised eyebrows like the appointment of Richard Maru, leader of the People First Party, as International Trade Minister.

It is too early to say whether the appointments have gone down well with everyone in the government ranks, however.

In the line-up yesterday, Pangu bagged much of the portfolios, followed by United Resources Party with five, while the United Labour Party and the PNG National Party were the obvious ones left out.

“We have broken up several ministries into smaller ministries to ensure accountability to deliver in relation to the budget.

“We have joined the transport sector with Civil Aviation, and police and CS are now part of one ministry,” Marape said.

Foreign affairs, trade separated
“Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Investment have been separated into two different ministries, now we have Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ministry for International Trade and Investment.”

“We have carefully extracted international investment and trade and built emphasis around its importance by creating a separate ministry that is responsible for it. Investment and trade are the backbone of domestic production. One cannot exist without the other.

“The appointments specifically spotlight agriculture in a very significant way. It is the strongest emphasis yet, by any government, in agriculture growth in the country. It again shows that the government is willing to do what it takes to meet the full expectations of our people in agriculture.

“Agriculture is where the government can have the greatest impact in terms of the population of this country, because the bulk of our people are subsistence farmers. We have land, so we must encourage our people to go into agriculture production.

“In one swift action we now have a Minister for Livestock, Minister for Coffee, Minister for Palm Oil, and the main agriculture Minister.

“We are placing very strong emphasis on the subsectors that will have the greatest impact for our people. We are going to set targets and these specific ministers will be required to take specific action to ensure that their subsectors meet their targets. There is no mistaking what our focus is on this government.”

Marape said his cabinet fairly reflected experience, continuity, and regional balance.

He has chosen carefully from a pool of talented and capable leaders in government, and the appointments reflect competence and ability.

All four regions are represented in cabinet with 10 MPs — including Marape — from the Highlands region, 10 MPs from Mamose, six from New Guinea Islands and six from the Southern region.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Southern Highlands capital — Mendi — has turned into a battlefield in Papua New Guinea this week as supporters of different candidates for the regional seat went on a warpath.

The warring parties –– believed to be supporters of the incumbent governor against the other regional candidates –– shut down the town on Thursday and during the mayhem, raided the Mendi police station and set fire to regional ballot papers.

Police Commissioner David Manning directed police in Mendi to arrest one of the candidates who was suspected of being behind the problems in Mendi and the counting.

Manning said he had ordered the arrest of the candidate following the ransacking of the Mendi police station in which the remaining ballot boxes for the provincial seat were removed from the containers and burned to ashes.

“I have directed the apprehension of the candidate [named] for questioning in relation to the incident at the police station,” Commissioner Manning said.

The mayhem was the culmination of frustration that have been built over weeks into the on-again off-again counting of the regional ballots that has dragged on for weeks since counting started in mid-July.

Southern Highlands police confirmed that allegations over electoral fraud by counting officials have led to frequent disruptions and the PNG Electoral Commission must take a stand on this.

‘Constitutional terrorists’
“The Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai needs to clarify if the candidates should go to court to obtain a court order or not to stop the provincial returning officer from counting the disputed ballot boxes,” provincial police commander Superintendent Daniel Yangen said.

Superintendent Yangen joined candidates Peter Nupuri, Benard Kaku and Augustine Rapa in Mendi who are accusing the EC and its official on the ground in Mendi for the turmoil.

Nupiri asked Sinai to replace the election manager, Jimmy Alwynn, to take charge of the counting.

Prime Minister James Marape condemned the burning of the ballot papers, describing those involved as “constitutional terrorists” who would be hunted down by the police.

“Those responsible are not ordinary arsonists but constitutional terrorists who can enter a police station and burn ballot boxes containing the votes of the people,” Marape said.

“This is state property and such an act is one of terrorism,” he said, adding that he had asked the police to go into Mendi, conduct the investigation and arrest those responsible.

He said people in PNG cannot continue to take the law into their own hands and his government would strengthen the police and justice system.

“I will, in the first instance, ensure that Southern Highlands Province, Hela, Enga and other hotspots are attended to at the very earliest,” Marape said.

Ialibu Pangia’s Peter O’Neill blamed the chaos in Mendi on the government.

‘Government-made shambles’
“This election has been a government-made shambles everywhere and democracy has been hijacked to make way for an autocratic style of leadership,” he said.

“I do not condone the violence in Mendi but I can certainly understand why it is happening.

“People are fed up with the way democracy has been cast aside by a power hungry few hellbent on seeking control at the expense of the people.”

O’Neill urged the Electoral Commissioner to reassert himself and take control of the Mendi counting room and ensure a fair outcome for the voters and candidates.

The destruction of the ballot papers has put an abrupt halt to the counting, which was heading into the elimination rounds.

Sinai will decide either to treat the Mendi situation as a “special circumstance” and declare the leading candidate as the winner or order a supplementary byelection.

“I will make a decision once I have gone through the report on the incident,” Sinai.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s incumbent leader, James Marape, has been returned to the top job as the country’s ninth prime minister, reports the ABC’s Port Moresby correspondent Natalie Whiting.

“Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first parliamentary sitting following the country’s controversial, and at times violent, national election,” she reported today.

Both the NBC state broadcaster and the independent news website Inside PNG reported live streams of today’s election and the swearing in.

Pangu Pati’s Marape is expected to be leading at least 17 parties in a coalition government.

The Prime Minister ousted his predecessor Peter O’Neill after a controversial walkout in Parliament three years ago, and has survived attempts to unseat him.

The PNG Post-Courier’s Miriam Zarriga reported today that Pangu, the party that had led PNG to independence in 1975, had been formally invited to form government in Parliament.

The invitation by the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, as prescribed in the Constitution, was issued at 10.20am yesterday.

Pangu Pati invited
Sir Bob said in his address: “I have been advised to invite Pangu Pati to form the next government.

“It is an honour to formally announce this message.

“By virtuous [sic] of the powers conveyed by Section 63 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates of Papua New Guinea and all other powers, acting in and in accordance with the advice of the Electoral Commissioner, hereby invite Pangu Party incorporated which has endorsed the greatest number of candidates elected in the 2022 National Elections to form the Government.”

As the formal invitation had been handed over to Pangu, the next step was to ensure that the party had the numbers in the 111-seat Parliament — with counting still going on in 13 seats — and the nominee for prime minister was ready today.

James Marape returned as PNG’s prime minister after tense election https://t.co/9blE8Y9xVo

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 9, 2022

The Pangu-led coalition last week announced James Marape as their nominee with 15 parties signing an MOU to work with Pangu to form government.

Many commentators have described the election as the “worst in living memory” — and the most violent.

Two women have been elected to Parliament for the first time in a decade, Central province Governor Rufina Peter and Rai Coast MP Kessy Sawang.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai says he will seek a further extension from the Governor-General for the return of writ for Southern Highlands provincial seat which has faced protracted delays in counting.

He said any discussions and talks of “failing” an election and calling for a supplementary or a byelection was not on his table and would not happen as the costs of running elections had escalated and were expensive.

Sinai said he would be writing to the Governor-General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, today requesting an extension for for Southern Highlands and other remaining electorates that were still being counted.

The last extension for the return of writs from July 29 to August 12 expired today.

The commissioner called on all Southern Highlanders to cooperate and allow the electoral process to continue without interference and delays to the counting as for the past couple of weeks.

“I am calling on all Southern Highlanders, especially those in Mendi, to observe and respect the rule of law and let the electoral process continue without interruptions,” he said.

Sinai said the commission would be seeking more police reinforcements for Southern Highlands to beef up security on the ground and ensure that counting was completed and the result delivered.

The commissioner expressed concern over a public perception people had about Southern Highlands as a “place of trouble”. He urged local leaders and supporters to put politics aside and think about building and protecting the image of the province.

“The democratic process that we have adopted is not about physical fight, but it is a fight through the ballot papers and whoever scores well during the scrutiny and counting process wins,” he said.

“It’s a game — one has to win and one has to lose. If you are aggrieved by the outcome, you can always seek an intervention of the court.”

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Leadership of Papua New Guinea has “gone to the dogs” represented by a rapid increase in prices of goods and services and the “worst national election” ever, says a lawyer.

Lawyer Goiye Kondago made the crtiticism during the official declaration of Kerenga Kua as MP-elect for Sinasina-Yongomugl in Kundiawa, Chimbu Province.

He pointed out Papua New Guinea’s “worrisome economic state” was being felt at family level.

“Goods and services tax (GST) seemed to be doubled up within a year with reasons unknown to you, the simple people in the village,” he said.

“Our kina seems to have a very low value compared to other currencies while our country is still rich with mineral resources which is supposed be the solution to such economic crisis at hand, rather than GST.

“It is painful to tell you this but we are in this situation.

“However, election time is when we bet our lives to appoint leaders who should form a good government to better manage our country’s current economic downfall.

‘Now or never’
“It is now or never.”

He thanked the people of Sinasina-Yongomugl for having trust in Kua’s leadership and re-elected him to serve for the third term.

He urged Kua’s supporters not to retaliate on any “troublesome attempt” by opposing candidates and to maintain peace and order.

Pangu Pati’s Prime Minister James Marape has been re-elected prime minister with a unanimous vote.

Concy Simon is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

In a historic first, the Papua New Guinea Parliament has installed Pangu Pati leader and Tari-Pori MP James Marape by a unanimous majority as the country’s ninth Prime Minister.

Immediately, in his address to the House and streamed live to the nation, Marape stuck to his belief in the mantra “Take Back PNG” and his vision to make every Papua New Guinean rich in the “richest black Christian nation on earth”.

While Marape was making his rambling victory speech to the nation, a rousing message filtered through that a second woman had successfully been elected to Parliament.

Kessy Sawang was declared winner of the Rai Coast seat and she joins Central Governor Rufina Peter in Parliament.

Marape was elected unopposed by 97 MPs in the House which included eight opposition MPs, becoming the first Prime Minister to be voted in unopposed since 1975 — the year of independence.

Only his sworn adversary and former PM Peter O’Neill abstained from voting by walking out of the chamber before the vote was taken.

O’Neill later said it was a matter of “conscience” that forced him to walk out the chamber.

Elevated to top job
The first time Marape became Prime Minister was on May 30, 2019, when, through a serious of twists and turns — including instigating a vote of no confidence which forced O’Neill to resign as PM — Marape was elevated to the top post by a parliamentary majority of 10-8, another historic moment in PNG’s oft-times fractured Parliament.

The nine MPs of O’Neill’s People’s National Congress (PNC) party who voted for Marape were: Pomio MP Elias Kapavore, Milne Bay Governor Gordon Wesley, Alotau MP Ricky Morris, Aitape Lumi MP Anderson Mise, Ambunti Drekikir MP Johnson Wapunai, Central Governor Rufina Peter, Ijivitari MP David Arore, Kiriwina-Goodenough Douglas Tomuriesa and Kandrian Gloucester MP Joseph Lelang.

After a slight mix up of the standing orders on the person nominating a PM, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird’s nomination was superseded by Manus Governor Charlie Benjamin and seconded by Western Governor Toboi Yoto.

PNC party leader Peter O’Neill walked out of the chamber as Speaker Job Pomat read out the notice and calling for nominations for Prime Minister.

Marape said that his election was for the people and that “whatever happened yesterday, Pangu would always put the country’s interest first”.

“I seek to anchor my statement on the remarks [made on 30 May 2019]. I wanted Papua New Guinea in the next decade to be a K200 billion (NZ$90 billion) economy.

“I wanted Papua New Guinea to be the Richest Black Christian Nation on Earth. My statement recognised that our political forebears have ushered in political independence in 1975,” he said.

‘Crafted legislation’
“They crafted legislation, built institutions, wrote policies and established relationships to deliver us political independence.”

But Marape’s speech failed to hit home with ordinary Papua New Guineans, leaving the population pondering what to expect in the country reeling from high unemployment, huge law and order issues and rising prices of basic store goods.

As Pangu and its coalition hunker down to prepare their 100-day plan, Papua New Guineans are taking to social media to raise simple questions like “when will our children return safely back to school?”, “a bag of five kilograms of rice is now K20? (NZ$9)”, and “when will the minimum wage of K3.50 (NZ$1.60 an hour) be raised to correspond with the costs of living which has spiked as a result of inflation?”.

Some are venting their anger at the lack of medicines in the biggest referral hospitals in the country — including Port Moresby General Hospital, where patients have to fork out their own money to buy panadol.

Marape continued: “This generation of leaders must deliver economic independence to Papua New Guinea.

“That Pangu has secured the mandate from Papua New Guinea can only mean that our people in the length and breadth of this country support this intention.

“It is my humble privilege to address this house as the Prime Minister. In 2019, I secured the mandate to be Prime Minister on the floor of Parliament.

‘Three very hard years’
“I served for three very hard years with the support of a lot of you.

“Today, I have secured the mandate from the people of Papua New Guinea.

“They have empowered, emboldened, and mandated me and the party to lead to be in government.

“I am privileged to lead a coalition of likeminded leaders to be your government.

“The 2022 national general election brings our country to the cusp of 50 years of nationhood.

“hree years before we turn 50 years old as a nation, Pangu gets a further opportunity to deal with some fundamental issues confronting our country.

‘Fair, healthy, happy society’
“The onus and responsibility now rest on each member of Parliament to rise up to the occasion and renew our commitment to pass on a better Papua New Guinea to the next generation.

“We are consistent with the Vision 2050 on the development phases of our country to be smart, wise, fair, healthy, and a happy society by 2050.

“It aligns nicely in that we are called to deliver economic enablers to fast-track development.

“Fastrack we must, as we do not have the luxury of time to wait around for things to happen at their pace.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a senior journalist with the PNG Post-Courier. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s incumbent leader, James Marape, has been returned to the top job as the country’s ninth prime minister, reports the ABC’s Port Moresby correspondent Natalie Whiting.

“Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first parliamentary sitting following the country’s controversial, and at times violent, national election,” she reported today.

Both the NBC state broadcaster and the independent news website Inside PNG reported live streams of today’s election and the swearing in.

Pangu Pati’s Marape is expected to be leading at least 17 parties in a coalition government.

The Prime Minister ousted his predecessor Peter O’Neill after a controversial walkout in Parliament three years ago, and has survived attempts to unseat him.

The PNG Post-Courier’s Miriam Zarriga reported today that Pangu, the party that had led PNG to independence in 1975, had been formally invited to form government in Parliament.

The invitation by the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, as prescribed in the Constitution, was issued at 10.20am yesterday.

Pangu Pati invited
Sir Bob said in his address: “I have been advised to invite Pangu Pati to form the next government.

“It is an honour to formally announce this message.

“By virtuous [sic] of the powers conveyed by Section 63 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates of Papua New Guinea and all other powers, acting in and in accordance with the advice of the Electoral Commissioner, hereby invite Pangu Party incorporated which has endorsed the greatest number of candidates elected in the 2022 National Elections to form the Government.”

As the formal invitation had been handed over to Pangu, the next step was to ensure that the party had the numbers in the 111-seat Parliament — with counting still going on in 13 seats — and the nominee for prime minister was ready today.

James Marape returned as PNG’s prime minister after tense election https://t.co/9blE8Y9xVo

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 9, 2022

The Pangu-led coalition last week announced James Marape as their nominee with 15 parties signing an MOU to work with Pangu to form government.

Many commentators have described the election as the “worst in living memory” — and the most violent.

Two women are understood to have been elected to Parliament for the first time in a decade.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

If there is a glimmer of hope in Papua New Guinea’s violence marred national general elections, then it has to be the elevation of a lone woman to the National Parliament.

It took the People’s National Congress (PNC) Governor-elect of Central Province, Rufina Peter, three attempts to wrest power away from Pangu’s Robert Agarobe at the close of counting last week.

The contest went down to the wire and Peter won on the weight of second and third preferential votes from eliminated candidates to unseat Agarobe.

She becomes the second woman to win the Central regional seat –– the first being vocal Papua Besena MP Dame Josephine Abaijah. And she is the eighth woman to be elected to Parliament, the first in a decade.

In another major development, the people of Madang are on the cusp of sending a second woman to join Peter in Parliament.

Rai Coast hopes up
In the remote district of Rai Coast –– famous for hosting a Russian anthropologist a century ago – jittery voters are keeping their fingers crossed as distribution of preferences was taking place over the weekend.

These are the same preferences that elevated Peter and given Sawang’s strong lead in the first half of the count, the preferences are hoped to push her to  victory.

Last Friday, she was in second place on 5086 votes after the first preferences were completed from defending MP Peter Sapia’s LLG area, pushing Sapia to 7127 votes.

Counting of preferential votes is continuing at a snail’s pace in Rai Coast as the coasties hold their breath.

More than 62,361 people of Central Province cast their vote for Peter, who polled 3444 more votes against incumbent Agarobe.

She surpassed the absolute majority of 60,640 after the 20th exclusion of Nelson Saroa who had 25,551 votes distributed, which pushed Rufina to collect 6779, making her reach the target with 62,361 votes against Agarobe who had 58,917 votes.

She said at her declaration on Friday night that she was aware of the magnitude of politics played out on the floor of Parliament, the tasks ahead of her, the wrestling she would need to do to give her Central Province people what they deserve.

First woman declared
An economist and Goilala’s first female politician, Rufina Peter is now the first woman to be declared in the 2022 national election.

Peter admitted that being elected as the political head of a province came with great responsibility and she was confident she could deliver to her people by working as a team.

PNC leader Peter O’Neill was first to congratulate the party’s “iron lady”, saying her declaration was a proud moment for the party.

“Rufina Peter’s declaration is a proud moment for our Party. She fought hard and stands strongly for those she represents. It is a pity that the ferocity and aggressive nature of this terrible national general election has sidelined a record number of female candidates,” O’Neill said.

In an interview over the weekend, Peter said Central Province had many educated elites who were instrumental in building the nation on the eve of independence.

“In my five years, I will make that happen again while in office, I will carry my people’s plight, I will fight for our women, our children and the underprivileged,” she said.

Dedicated to ‘female empowerment’
Peter assured the people of Central and PNG women that she stood ready to work with all members-elect in Central and the provincial administration to serve her people in five districts.

The new governor also thanked her predecessor, Robert Agarobe, for leading and governing Central Province over the past five years.

She dedicated her victory to God, the women of Central and male champions of women empowerment.

She acknowledged all security forces and electoral officials for delivering the elections in trying circumstances, and also praised the PNC party for believing in and endorsing her to run under its banner.

Gorethy Kenneth is a senior PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“Shame on yous!” … these are the three powerful words Julie Soso, former governor and candidate for the Eastern Highlands regional seat, had to say for the newly elected members to Papua New Guinea’s Parliament — all men so far.

Soso, Carol Mayo (Vanimo-Green Open), Albertine Ehari (Kerema Open), Shelley Launa and Mary Maima (Simbu Regional), Dr Julianne Kaman and Sarah Garap from Jiwaka-based Meri I Kirap Sapotim (MIKS), an NGO, yesterday joined more than 100 women leaders from Enga and Jiwaka in condemning the manner in which the national election 2022 was conducted.

The women leaders say violence, bribery, vote rigging, controlled voting, threats compounded with selective counting and manipulation of numbers in counting centres involving the PNG Electoral Commission officials “killed all aspirations” women had to get into the National Parliament in this election.

“Young men who are supporters of contesting candidates used violence as a means to intimidate voters at polling stations,” said Dr Kaman said from Jiwaka.

“Many women and vulnerable voters gave up and went away.”

She was supported by Launa and Maima, who said the candidates and their supporters “came to fight, not to vote”.

“They told us that the regional votes were ‘pipia votes’ [‘rubbish votes’] and they sold the ballot papers,” Launa added.

‘Hired thugs’
Not only were the women and vulnerable voters confronted with candidates and their “hired thugs” who took away the ballot papers to mark themselves as voters, they were also confronted by husbands and sons who had taken bribes.

“Campaign was good. It was at the polling booths [that the intimidation happened],” Albertine Ehari, who stood for the Kerema Open, said.

“The husbands and sons took bribes from the candidates and they took over the voting from the mothers and young girls. Many gave up.”

In the Southern Highlands, the only female candidate for regional seat, Ruth Undi, and her supporters were left wondering what had become of their votes.

“There were outside ballot papers that were brought in by the disciplinary forces and we voted.”

Undi’s campaign manager, Jamson Mange, said from Mendi yesterday: “Her supporters voted for her, they came back with their reports and we are surprised that these votes are not registered on the tally boards.”

Mayo, a candidate for the Vanimo-Green electorate, said she went up against candidates with money and cargo.

“How come I have not scored any votes? There is selective counting here, the counting was controlled and manipulated,” Mayo added.

Violence on higher scale
Violence in elections in Enga is nothing new but it was on a higher scale in this election.

“We have not voted ever since because men use force to take away the ballot boxes and mark the ballots in hideouts,” an Enga woman leader said.

The women leader is among 98 others from Porgera, Kandep, Wapenamanda, Wabag and Lagaip districts who joined 40 other women leaders from Jiwaka province, who are petitioning the PNG Electoral Commission to cancel all the writs and hold fresh elections.

The women did not want their names released because they were placing their own lives — and that of their families — in danger by taking their grievances to the PNGEC and the media.

“Declaration of candidates in the Highlands is questionable. How did they get 50.1 percent of the total votes when more than 50 percent of the voter age people did not vote?” the head of MIKS non-government group, Garap, asked.

“Candidates there did not come through free, fair, participatory, non-violent elections.”

Soso remarked: “These were promoted and accepted by leaders that are now getting ready to go into government and Parliament.

Exploiting the system
“They knew the election system was poor, they knew they would use the system to get in.

“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Soso added.

The women have demanded immediate steps to be taken to make the 2027 national election safe and free for them.

Among measures proposed include a biometric system to carry out the Common Roll, the National Identification Project, and to conduct polling in the 2027 election.

Ehari said: “Elections shouldn’t be about how much money candidates or parties are spending during or before the vote.

“It should be about people working together to choose the right leader and work together to bring practical and agreed development.”

• Papua New Guinea is one of just four countries in the world without a single woman in Parliament. The 167 women who contested this year’s elections represented less than 5 percent of the total number of candidates.

Peter Korugl is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

People’s National Congress party leader Peter O’Neill has blown the race for the Papua New Guinea prime minister’s job wide open by declaring he will not run for the country’s top post.

As the national election winds down and lobbying intensifies among Pangu Pati, People’s National Congress (PNC), United Resources Party (URP), People’s Progress Party (PPP) and the National Alliance (NA), the one-time prime minister O’Neill said his party would support an alternative prime minister candidate.

The bombshell from O’Neill is likely to shake up the Pangu camp on Loloata Island which contains several aspiring PM-minded politicians.

O’Neill also appealed to the elected leaders to choose a prime minister who could heal the nation from the chaos that has plunged the country into election-related violence.

He wants to focus on Ialibu-Pangia and Southern Highlands and wants to give an opportunity to those who have been elected the right way to put their hands up.

“You will have my 100 percent support and I ask nothing special in return,” the former PM said yesterday.

O’Neill had gone to the election, vying to form government but the dismal performance of his PNC party may have forced his change of heart for the top job.

Not just about O’Neill or Marape
He said that the position of prime minister should not just be about O’Neill or Marape.

“Let me make it clear. I do not believe that I have a right to be the only alternative to Marape for the prime minister position.

“It was my greatest privilege to lead Papua New Guinea, but I recognise that we need to heal and move forward, and that the restoration may move faster when leaders listen to the will of the people,” he said.

“I encourage leaders who have been elected properly and who are genuinely interested in rescuing PNG from the economic and social chaos Marape has plunged the country into over the past three years, to consider putting their hand up for the top job.

“The role of prime minister should be filled by a person who has firstly been elected with integrity — who has been mandated by the people honestly.

“It is a critical junction for our young nation, and we urgently need a Papua New Guinean who has a vision for our country and who can pull the nation together and lead us forward.

He said there was a very worrying “fake government” which had fostered deep hatred under the Marape leadership that was tearing at the cohesion that had kept the country peaceful.

‘No celebrations’
“There are no celebrations around the country despite the apparently overwhelming election of Pangu candidates,” he said.

“Very strange, no one at all seems proud of their apparent chosen leaders, rather people are scared with no one to turn to with all avenues for justice closed off to the regular person.

“The national general election has magnified the level of violence, hatred, and unfairness in society and it is time for a leader to step forward who can bring peace and execute on clear policies.

“I am prepared to support alternative prime minister candidates as I and my party are prepared to do whatever it takes to rescue PNG,” he declared in Port Moresby.

“I can assure those who may contemplate being the next prime minister, that the propaganda coming from the locked and guarded at Kalabus Pangu (Loloata Resort) is not true.

“Leaders are worried the economy is in tatters. They are asking why our economy is performing so badly that the IMF has announced that they are opening a dedicated office in Port Moresby to monitor more closely the Treasury functions.”

O’Neill said the closure of the Porgera mine and the failure to move ahead in three years with any new major investments such as Wafi Golpu, along with massive borrowings and wastage had “shredded our financial position”.

He said genuine leaders did not want another five years like the last three.

“Our children are growing up thinking this violent society is normal,” he said.

“We now seem to be in freefall economically and socially and need to use this moment in time to reset ourselves and move forward with new leadership.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea politics — or for that matter, Parliament — will no longer be the same any more in this country.

The defeats of experienced and long serving MPs Patrick Pruaitch, Davis Steven, John Simon and Dr Allan Marat has completely changed the landscape of politics in PNG.

And similar upsets are expected in coming days as counting proceeds in more than 70 electorates around the country.

Continuity in leadership at the national level in any country is important, and in PNG, it is no different.

This country still requires the presence of a good number of capable individuals in Parliament at any given term of the House who have the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities to lead Parliament, or better still, provide that guidance needed by those who govern to ensure proper checks and balance are maintained.

The defeats of the four long-serving MPs reflects the wishes of their people and must be respected. No one will unwind the clock of events that have taken place in this election.

However, the losses suffered so far and the likelihood of other leaders bowing out leaves huge holes in Parliament and in their political parties which will take time to fill.

20 years in Parliament
National Alliance Party leader and a former Treasurer Pruaitch, an economist by profession, lost the Aitape Lumi seat he has held since 2002 — the year another stable and highly respected politician and lawyer, Dr Allan Marat, entered Parliament.

Joining them a decade later were John Simon who took the Maprik Open seat in East Sepik province and Davis Steven who took the Esa-ala seat in Milne Bay province.

Deputy National Alliance party leader Walter Schnaubelt and East Sepik Governor-elect Allan Bird thanked the people of Aitape-Lumi for their support for Pruaitch over the last 20 years.

They advised over the weekend that the party would convene their meeting to address this issue among others and make an announcement later.

The casualty list so far includes Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat, Maprik MP John Simon, Huon-Gulf MP Ross Seymour, ENB Governor Nakikus Konga, Koroba-Kopiago MP Petrus Thomas, Nawaeb MP Kennedy Wenge, and Menyama MP Benjamin Philip.

All lost their seats to first time MPs.

Gorethy Kenneth is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz