GOVERNOR GENERAL REPEATING 2011

THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S DECISION TO EXTEND TIME IS SIMILAR TO O'NEIL’S EXCUSE IN 2011 – 

by Paul Amato

I am greatly alarmed at how many educated people seem to think it is fine for the Governor General to extend the time for counting to be completed when we are fast approaching the deadline for the Return of Writs on 29th July 2022. This is dangerous and reverses the excuses Peter O'Neil and Belden Namah took in 2011 to overthrow the then Somare Government.

If we truly are a law-abiding nation, then we must follow the rule and letter of the law at all times. We cannot keep coming up with excuses to break the law for convenience's sake. No other democratic country does that.

Two excellent discussions in PNG Think Tank #1 WhatsApp forum by former judge Mr. Luther Wenge, and former Chief Justice Sir Arnold Amet. Both are clear that the Constitution does not leave any room for argument or debate where it clearly sets the date for the Return of Writs. They both agree that the Constitution does not say what should happen if this does not happen. 

So by obvious inference, the most logical conclusion would be that the elections must be filed if the majority required to form a quorum is not in parliament on that date. It is that clear and simple.

From both men, it is quite obvious that there are significant and glaring failures by the government and the Electoral Commissioner. This election has been marred by illegal acts since the issue of writs starting with the shortening of the election period. By law, it is 3 months, not 2 months. This was followed by others which Mr. Wenge says have been completed so we cannot deal with them now. What has not been completed and so can be dealt with is the Return of Writs on 29th July.

My layman’s view is that in the event we do not meet the required 75% quorum for parliament to meet on 29th July, then the Governor General has no choice but to declare the elections as failed. He cannot accept any excuses or reasons from the Electoral Commission because the timeframe is fixed. Also the provisions the EC is relying on are based on an Organic Law which is subsidiary to the Constitution.

Are our leaders now vying for election to the National Parliament as mandated leaders representing the people willing to allow this to continue? Are they in this race to represent the people and provide good leadership based on law or do they too want to circumvent the law for personal gain? If the latter then are they real leaders or opportunists?

I call on the Governor General to reconsider and review his decision to extend the time and revoke that decision immediately for the nation's greater good. In the long term, we are better off with the law than without. The approval he gave is a path to continued lawlessness for the sake of expediency and convenience and he must not go down that path. 

Sir Governor General; please for the sake of this nation, revoke your decision and recall or nullify all writs issued if they are not returned by 29th July. Install a caretaker government and conduct new elections, this time by the law starting from the beginning.