PNG politicians to remain in office until end of July
PNG's politicians including the O'Neill government to remain in office until end of July.
Papua New Guinea’s parliamentarians will remain in office until writs for the 2012 general election are returned towards the end of July to mark the end of polling.
Speaking at a joint press conference yesterday in Port Moresby with representatives from the private sector, civil society, trade unions and parliament-elected Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Transparency International’s Richard Kassman said MPs will continue to hold office until July 27.
“Writs will be issued on the 18th of May and we are very pleased for that confirmation. The writs will be issued on the 18th of May; governor general has signed that after being presented by the chief electoral commissioner. Now on that time parliament and government will remain. As a caretaker government will remain and MPs remain as members of parliament until the return of writs on the 27th of July. And its very important because there is misunderstanding that as of the 18th of May, when writs are issued, that MPs no longer are MPs and its creating a lot of instability and concern. And so we have spoken to the Prime Minister, we will as a community, be placing an advertisement in the paper to clarify the law so we understand it as a people,” he said.
Under the revised 2012 general election timetable released by the PNG Electoral Commission, the writs will be issued on May 18 to signal the opening of nominations of candidates. Nominations will close on May 24 to allow for a five-week campaign period. Polling will start on June 23 and end on July 6 with the writs expected to be returned on or before Friday July 27.
Mr Kassman also said parliament can be recalled during the interim period of a caretaker government, if circumstances warranted it.
“Parliament, there is no law that prevents parliament from sitting during this time, if there are extenuating circumstances (such as) emergencies, parliament can be convened for the matter to be dealt with.”
Papua New Guineans appear to be uncomfortable with the continued sitting of their 109-seat parliament, with the biggest concerns being O’Neill government-authored legislation being rushed through parliament often bypassing scrutiny and debate. One of these laws is the Judicial Conduct Act which parliament enacted despite widespread public condemnation.
While representatives from the private sector, churches, trade unions and civil society appear to have taken Mr O’Neill’s word on the non-deferral of the polling dates, questions remain on reported moves by his government to remove PNG electoral commissioner Andrew Trawen.
PNG Opposition Leader Dame Carol Kidu has warned that Mr Trawen’s removal will not be in the interest of the country and could further destabilize the fragile situation triggered by the ongoing tussle for government legitimacy between Mr O’Neill and his Supreme Court-reinstated rival PM Sir Michael Somare.
“The continued debate about the validity of the re-appointment of the Electoral Commissioner in January 2010 only serves to destabilize further a very difficult political situation and is not in the best interests of the country. Papua New Guinea is only three weeks away from the delayed Issue of Writs and it is time to put the power of choice back into the hands of our people. If the Government had valid reason to replace the current Electoral Commissioner, it should have been done so months ago soon after the political coup of August 2 last year,” she said.