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Parliament name National Parliament More photos  >>> Structure of parliament Unicameral Affiliation to the IPU Yes Affiliation date(s) 1985 - LEADERSHIP President Jeffrey Nape (M)  Secretary General Don Pandan (M)  COMPOSITION Members (statutory / current number) 109 / 109 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN More statistics  >>> Women (current number) 1 (0.92%) Mode of designation directly elected 109 Term 5 years Last renewal dates 30 June 2007 10 July 2007 (View details) CONTACT INFORMATION Address National Parliament Parliament House Post Office - WAIGANI Port Moresby, NCD (Export mailing lists) Phone (675) 3277 377 Fax (675) 3277 480 3277 481 E-mail info@parliament.gov.pg Website http://www.parliament.gov.pg/

Parliament name National Parliament Structure of parliament Unicameral LEGAL FRAMEWORK Electoral law 1 January 1997 Last updated: 05.10.2006 Mode of designation directly elected 109 Constituencies 109 single-member constituencies (20 provincial and 89 local). Voting system Majority: Limited preferential voting system (only the first three preferences marked by a voter are counted). Each voter makes a choice of three candidates by indicating his/her preferences referred to as 1, 2 and 3 on the ballot paper ("1" being the voter's most preferred candidate). The vote is first attributed to the candidate with the number "1", so that should that candidate win an absolute majority (50 per cent of the valid votes plus one of the vote remaining), he or she is declared elected. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, the vote distribution continues after eliminating the candidate with the lowest tally. The second-choice or third-choice candidates are then distributed as marked to remaining candidates. This process continues until one candidate receives 50 per cent plus one of the votes remaining, and is declared elected. Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through by-elections. Voting is not compulsory. Voter requirements - age: 18 years - Papua New Guinean citizenship - residence within constituency for more than six months - disqualifications: allegiance to a foreign State, insanity CANDIDATES Eligibility - qualified electors - age: 25 years - Papua New Guinean citizenship - birth or residence (for the immediately preceding two years or for a period of five years at any time) in the constituency - ineligibility: death sentence, imprisonment for a period exceeding nine months, conviction of electoral offence in the preceding three years, dismissal from office under the Leadership Code in the preceding three years Incompatibilities - Governor-General Candidacy requirements - deposit of 1,000 kina, reimbursed if the candidate polls at least 1/3 of the votes obtained by the winning candidate of the constituency concerned

Parliament name National Parliament Structure of parliament Unicameral BACKGROUND Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) 30 June 2007 10 July 2007 Timing and scope of renewal Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. The 2007 elections were the first to be held under the limited preferential voting system (LPV, see note) introduced by amendments to the electoral law in December 2006. The first-past-the-post system had been used for previous elections. The amendments also reduced the campaign period from eight to four weeks. In the previous elections held in June 2002, results for six seats were invalidated due to violence and electoral fraud. At least 25 people were killed. The final results gave Prime Minister Michael Somare's National Alliance (NA) 19 seats, defeating the then ruling People's Democratic Movement (PDM), which took only 12. Mr. Somare subsequently formed a coalition government with seven other parties. The 71-year-old Mr. Somare was Papua New Guinea's first Prime Minister following independence in 1975 from Australia under a UN trusteeship, and served for four mandates. He was seeking a second consecutive five-year term in the 2007 elections. Under his fourth government, the country managed to come out of the economic slump experienced in previous years. The GDP growth rate had been expected to reach 5.5 per cent in 2007. Nevertheless, around 40 per cent of the population still lives on less than one dollar a day. Prior to the 2007 elections, Prime Minister Somare came in for criticism over his alleged role in helping Solomon Islands Attorney General Julian Moti to avoid extradition to Australia. Mr. Moti had been accused of having sex with minors in Australia, and had reportedly escaped to the Solomon Islands aboard a Papua New Guinea defence force plane. The Australian Government urged the Papua New Guinea Government to release a report on Mr. Moti's escape and subsequently banned Papua New Guinean ministers from entering Australia. Mr. Somare accused Australia of trying to influence the election results and pledged to maintain his country's sovereignty. The main opposition parties were the PNG Party, led by former prime minister Mr. Mekere Morauta, and the New Generation Party (NGP) of Mr. Bart Philemon, a former finance minister sacked by Prime Minister Somare in 2006 following a leadership challenge. Both parties accused Mr. Somare's government of being corrupt and inefficient. They also pledged to maintain close ties with Australia, which demands that the country implement economic reforms in cooperation with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The two parties announced that they would back the former prime minister Julius Chan of the People's Progress Party (PPP) for the post of prime minister. In the 2007 elections, over 2,700 candidates (including 101 women) from 34 political parties vied for the 109 seats at stake. Despite the financial incentives to field women candidates provided for in the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates, very few female candidates were endorsed by political parties. Instead, 65 women stood as independents. The NA's coalition partner, the People's Action Party (PAP), endorsed four female candidates, the highest number of women backed by any political party contesting the 2007 elections. Its leader Mr. Gabriel Kapris, called on female voters’ support, arguing that women in the country should be given a chance to make a difference in the elections. Following criticism over numerous "ghost voters" (deceased individuals) in the electoral roll used in 2002, the Electoral Commissioner revised the electoral roll prior to the 2007 elections. The number of registered voters fell from 5.3 million to 3.9 million. Some voters claimed their names were missing from the list. The military was deployed to ensure security. During the election campaign, however, violent incidents between supporters of rival parties were reported in Mount Hagen, injuring several people. The 2007 elections nevertheless recorded fewer incidents than in 2002. Due to the new electoral system, which requires voters to make three choices in order of preference, many candidates tried to negotiate with other candidates to obtain their supporters’ preferential votes in second and third place. Such pre-election negotiations reportedly contributed to a peaceful election campaign. The Commonwealth-Pacific Islands Forum election assistance mission concluded that the elections were successfully conducted in all Provinces in an overwhelming atmosphere of peace and security and that the isolated incidents of violence were handled in a professional manner. The NA remained the largest party with 27 seats. Its coalition partner, the PAP, and the opposition PNG followed with seven seats each. Former prime minister Julius Chan (PPP) returned to parliament alongside his son Byron. Prime Minister Somare and his son Arthur were also elected. The sole female member in the outgoing legislature, Ms. Carol Kidu, was once again the only woman elected to the new parliament. On 13 August, the newly elected National Parliament held its first session and re-elected Mr. Jeffrey Nape as its Speaker. Mr. Michael Somare was re-elected as Prime Minister over Mr. Chan (PPP), who was backed by the PNG Party and the NGP. Former prime minister Morauta became the opposition leader, while Mr. Philemon (NGP) became his deputy. Mr. Somare subsequently formed a coalition government comprising 14 political parties, the biggest coalition since the country's independence. Note The system requires voters to make three choices in order of preference from among the nominated candidates. Preferential voting requires candidates to seek support (in the form of preferences) outside their own clans and communities, while ensuring that elected members of parliament hold a majority mandate from their electorates. Due to an increasing number of candidates at each election, most members were elected with less than 15 per cent of the valid votes. STATISTICS Voter turnout Round no 1 (from/to) 30 June 2007 10 July 2007 Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes Notes Distribution of votes Round no 1 Political group Candidates Votes % of votes National Alliance (NA) Independents People's Alliance Party (PAP) PNG Party Pangu Part) People's Democratic Movement (PDM) United Resources Party (URP) New Generation Party (NGP) People's National Congress Party (PNCP) People's Progress Party (PPP) Rural Development Party (RDP) PNG National Party (PNGNP) People's Labour Party (PLP) PNG Country Party United Party (UP) Melanesian Liberal Party (MLP) People's Party People's First Party (PFP) Melanesian Alliance Party (MAP) Distribution of seats Round no 1 Political Group Total of seats National Alliance (NA) 27 Independents 21 People's Alliance Party (PAP) 7 PNG Party 7 Pangu Part) 5 People's Democratic Movement (PDM) 5 United Resources Party (URP) 5 New Generation Party (NGP) 4 People's National Congress Party (PNCP) 4 People's Progress Party (PPP) 4 Rural Development Party (RDP) 4 PNG National Party (PNGNP) 3 People's Labour Party (PLP) 3 PNG Country Party 2 United Party (UP) 2 Melanesian Liberal Party (MLP) 2 People's Party 2 People's First Party (PFP) 1 Melanesian Alliance Party (MAP) 1 Distribution of seats according to sex Men Women Percent of women 108 1 0.92% Distribution of seats according to age Distribution of seats according to profession Comments Source: - Electoral Commission (20.08.2007)

Parliament name National Parliament Structure of parliament Unicameral APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE Title Speaker of the National Parliament Term - duration: 5 years (term of House) - reasons for interruption of the term: resignation, death, dissolution Appointment - elected by all the Members of the Parliament - the election is held at the first sitting of the newly elected Parliament or when a vacancy occurs - after Members are sworn in and after validation of mandates Eligibility - any Member of the Parliament can be a candidate - candidatures must be submitted by a third party who is himself a Member of the Parliament - once submitted, candidatures must be supported by another Member of the Parliament Voting system - if only one candidature is submitted : the candidate is elected without a vote or debate - if two candidatures are submitted : a vote by secret ballot is held. The candidate who obtain the majority is elected - if more than two candidatures are submitted : a vote by secret ballot is held. The candidates who obtain the majority is elected. In the event of a tie, the candidate having obtained the least votes is eliminated and a new round of voting is held Procedures / results - the Clerk presides over the Parliament during the voting - the Clerk supervises the voting - the Clerk announces the results without any delay STATUS Status - in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker can assume his/her role and functions Board - consists of the Speaker, one Deputy Speaker and four assistants Material facilities NA (no information received) FUNCTIONS Organization of parliamentary business - establishes and modifies the agenda, in the framework of the Standing Orders Chairing of public sittings - can open, adjourn and close sittings, in the framework of the Standing Orders - ensures respect for provisions of the Constitution and Standing Orders - makes announcements concerning the Parliament - takes disciplinary measures in the event of disturbance, and lifts such measures - establishes the list of speakers, gives and withdraws permission to speak - establishes the order in which amendments are taken up and selects which amendments are to be debated - calls for a vote, decides how it is to be carried out, verifies the voting procedure and cancels a vote in the event of irregularities - checks the quorum - interprets the rules or other regulations governing the life of the Parliament Special powers - is responsible for safety, and in this capacity, can call the police in the event of disturbance in the Parliament Speaking and voting rights, other functions - takes part in voting, only in the event of a tie

This page was last updated on 16 August 2011
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