WHO SHOULD FORM GOVERNMENT?

Winning Elections is one thing. It is another thing to form government. Today the main contenders, the PNC, PPP, PNG Party, URP, THE Party, and NA have all sent their candidates to the wilderness, to come home with the goods. This week we will know for sure who has the numbers under the law to be invited to form government.

This nation knows very well, the election process has not been perfect. Infact that is an understatement. Starting from the Electrol Commission's own common roll to missing ballot papers to missing ballot boxes, it seems this election has had the hall marks of a major deception on the people of PNG.

Questions are still being asked about how Peter ONeill the Member for Ialibu Pangia was able to score such a overwhelming majority, a majority that does not tally with the physical count done by scrutineers of the runner up Candidates. Infact that election should have gone to eliminations according to one candidate. Every body is shocked with disbelief.

That is the same sentiment in Hagen Open, where it seems pigs dogs,little children and dead people seem to have voted. Dorothy Tekwie has taken the trouble to take pictures of children voting, all with the full cooperation of the Electrol Commission.

There are many more funny business that is yet to surface, like the one Puka Temu is denying in the Central Province, where a young lady, allegedly picked up by a support vehicle, repeatedly raped, and dropped off by Sir Puka's police support vehicle. In the vehicle she has testified to the Police were two ballot boxes which were packed with Sir Puka's votes ( or rather were boxes of votes from a rival Candidates stronghold polling booths). Her allegations of electrol impropriety has met with Sir Puka's bold declaration, " Iam clean". Perhaps he is.

All these and more will surface at the court houses soon, and we will see a never ending litany of corruption and foul play. At the centre of this will be the EC, Police Force and the Defence Force, and their very central role in the election process. Alot of government money, public funds, taken from waigani coffers under the pretext of projects were used in these elections.
This leads us to the very important question of what sort of government do PNGians want to see after these elections?

No one leader that has been re-elected is a stand out Leader to lead this nation, although they might think so themselves. What must happen and what has happened in the past has always been a compromise of principles, a compromise of wills, resulting in unhappy marriages of convenience. In such marriages, more often than not the will of the majority of PNGians is lost in the morass of politics and horsetrading resulting in corrupt leaders being ressurrected by means of their ill gotten gains and the people once again get short changed.

Papua New Guinea is sick and tired of corrupt Leaders. PNG this elections do not want a repeat of what we have seen in the last 12 months- where waigani was looted of over K500 million by the government, our Judiciary and government institutions were fragmented and left in tatters, and our Constitution torn to shreds.

No we dont want to see the repeat of the last 12 months, we dont want to re-live the nightmare.
We want stable intelligent respectful dignified honest and honourable leaders, fit to hold our hopes and our asperations as a nation in their hands, and carry us through what promises to be a prosperous and yet very turbulent period of our history. We want maturity. We want leaders who look like and who carry themselves and who personify the nation of Papua New Guinea.

We dont want leaders who will for the sake of their business interests sell this nation out to other nations. Papua New Gunea is not a comodity or a play thing for politicians to further their own private business and economic interests.

Sir Julius Chan will remember well that he cried bitter tears in Parliament when he was told he could no longer be eligible for the post of the PM. He was chewed and spat out like a soft buai. If sir J feels, he has something more to offer PNG in the sunset years of his life, someone who helped build this nation and its institutions, then he will do well to lend his support to those who will build this nation than to tear it down. Whatever, he does will be the legacy that will follow his son.

A word to all new MPs, and especially to the Independent MPs and those who are in the middle, you are all elected MPs now ( until the courts rule otherwise in some of your cases) go join the Leader who is mature, conservative, has PNG at heart, has the experience to lead this nation with dignity and fairness to all. Look around at the current players, and choose well. Dont let the K1 Million election reimbursement offer from certain group or groups sway you. You have just been elected. There is a long road ahead. Think of this nation and its journey ahead. You are now a national leader. Think of our people and our institutions. Think of which Leader, which Party will best secure the interets of Papua New Guinea for the long term, and work with him.

Above all reject the man with bags of money running around trying to buy you. You insult your people, if you accept that money now. Go with a Party that will restore pride and dignity back in the hearts of our people, and leave all this skulldrugery behiend.

We have gone to the elections to forget, and get away from the nightmare of the last twelve months, not to legitimize it. Let every MP vote wisely and vote freely for the best interests of this nation.


ERASMUS BARANIAK