PNGBLOGS

B y CHRISTOPHER PAPIALI My old father used to tell me that when you go fetch water down the valley using a bamboo make sure that it does not capsize right at the doorsteps of the house after covering kilometers walking with sweat and pain. This old story can be related to the political development leading up to the formation of the government for the 9th parliament. Peter O’Neill, Sir Julius Chan, Sir Michael T. Somare and Paias Wingti have forged partnership to present to the people of PNG that their new government is for the people, and not themselves. They said it bridges generation gap and yields prosperous future. Peter Ipatas, Don Polye, Beldon Namah, Luther Wenge, Garry Juffa have been left out in the preliminary discussions on the best political party marriages. We have a team of very conservative and right wing advocates verses the very radical and passionate leaders who do not give a second thought on what ought to be done.In all these, one thing is clear:PNG Politics present

By NICK LAKI In the lead up to the 2002 elections, PDM was powerful. Nearly all MPs were PDMs. They had so much confident that they would return as they were to form the next government after 2002 elections. They therefore legislated the intergrity bill allowing government to rule for longer term in parliament and therefore done away with 18months term syndrome. Not sure enough, everything turned out against them and the PDM party disintegrated to almost nothing after 2002 election. The so called country's best economist and architecture of many financial and /or state institution and the then PDM leader(Mekere Moruata)decided to change the party name to PNG party just to save it from extinction. However, the founder of PDM- Paias Wingti asked Mekere to sack himself and his comrades from PDM and let PDM alone. So was it done and the rebrand was PNG party just like Polye's rebranding of NA to THE Party. After 2002, NA, unpopular and insignificant party that nobody imagined could

By NICK LAKI In the lead up to the 2002 elections, PDM was powerful. Nearly all MPs were PDMs. They had so much confident that they would return as they were to form the next government after 2002 elections. They therefore legislated the intergrity bill allowing government to rule for longer term in parliament and therefore done away with 18months term syndrome. Not sure enough, everything turned out against them and the PDM party disintegrated to almost nothing after 2002 election. The so called country's best economist and architecture of many financial and /or state institution and the then PDM leader(Mekere Moruata)decided to change the party name to PNG party just to save it from extinction. However, the founder of PDM- Paias Wingti asked Mekere to sack himself and his comrades from PDM and let PDM alone. So was it done and the rebrand was PNG party just like Polye's rebranding of NA to THE Party. After 2002, NA, unpopular and insignificant party that nobody imag

By STEVEN ANDRE I hear Mr William Duma polled 34,585 votes out of 64,073 counted ballot papers. I also gathered that there are still 21 boxes of the primary votes yet to be counted. The Returning Officer was picky in selecting Duma’s base seats with an intention, as it surfaces now, to short-cut the process.  I gather that a situation of recess was created and the counting officials took the break with the intention to continue when the returning officer dropped the bombshell by declaring Duma, purportedly on absolute majority of first count. The formula to attain an absolute majority is the 50% + 1 of the total formal primary count votes. There can NEVER be a calculation of 50%+1 whilst the primary count is still progressing, hence even if there is only one box left and a candidate had reached the absolute majority mark, that one primary box must be exhausted before the calculation is made. The total population for Mount Hagen Open as I hear would be around 90,000 and if that is the f

By STEVEN ANDRE I hear Mr William Duma polled 34,585 votes out of 64,073 counted ballot papers. I also gathered that there are still 21 boxes of the primary votes yet to be counted. The Returning Officer was picky in selecting Duma’s base seats with an intention, as it surfaces now, to short-cut the process.  I gather that a situation of recess was created and the counting officials took the break with the intention to continue when the returning officer dropped the bombshell by declaring Duma, purportedly on absolute majority of first count. The formula to attain an absolute majority is the 50% + 1 of the total formal primary count votes. There can NEVER be a calculation of 50%+1 whilst the primary count is still progressing, hence even if there is only one box left and a candidate had reached the absolute majority mark, that one primary box must be exhausted before the calculation is made. The total population for Mount Hagen Open as I hear would be around 90,000 and if t

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 s

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