Papua New Guinean general election, 2007
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea
from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007.
For the first time, the election did not use first past the post (which has in the past resulted in a very volatile political system, with the election of a candidate being largely a matter of chance due to the large number of candidates), but rather Limited Preferential Voting
, in which voters number their three most preferred candidates. PNG Police reported three deaths caused by election-related violence during the election period, a large decrease in the 100 deaths which occurred during the 2002 elections. 11,000 police officers and soldiers were deployed throughout the country to police the elections and keep the peace.
Originally scheduled to end on 10 July, it was decided that the elections would be extended by five days due to delays in transporting ballot boxes caused by bad weather.
Early results on 15 July indicated that incumbent Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare
's National Alliance Party
was picking up more seats than other parties of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
's 109 seats. Final results were largely completed by 6 August, the deadline for the return of writs. Counting in two seats was extended for a few days due to legal challenges halting the counting process. The previous deadline was 30 July, but this was extended due to delays caused by bad weather and disruption of counting by some candidates and scrutineers.
In addition to the seats won by the National Alliance Party directly, thirteen independents joined the party after the election. Together with its coalition partners (which include the People's Action Party
, the United Resources Party
, the Pangu Party
, the National Party
, the Melanesian Liberal Party
and the Melanesian Alliance Party
) the National Alliance Party had the support of a substantial majority of the newly elected Members of Parliament.
A hundred women had stood as candidates. Only one, Dame Carol Kidu
, was elected, for the Port Moresby South constituency.
On Monday 13 August 2007, the first sitting of Parliament after the election took place. Jeffrey Nape
was re-elected as Speaker of the House, and Sir Michael Somare
was once again elected to be the country's Prime Minister, winning 86 votes in the 109-seat Parliament.
and Member of Parliament for Rai Coast Open electorate, was convicted of raping his sister-in-law and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment. In May 2007 he allegedly suffered a stroke and was transferred from Beon jail to hospital and placed under guard. A group of supporters and relatives then reportedly retrieved him from hospital by force and escorted him to the office of the Electoral Commission, where he completed an application to stand as an independent candidate for his previously held seat of Rai Coast Open. Despite a recent constitutional amendment that disallows anyone convicted of an indictable offence from running for office, the Electoral Commission accepted his candidacy on the basis that his legal appeal was still underway. This decision later attracted considerable criticism. He remained in hospital until 7 July, conducting his campaign from his hospital bed.
In the 2007 general election, Yali won the Rai Coast Open seat from a field of 28 candidates. His level of support, despite being imprisoned, was widely attributed to fear of his reputation for sorcery.
On 10 August, the Supreme Court quashed Yali's appeal, nullifying his election. The Electoral Commission said that a by-election for Rai Coast Open would be held within three months. The court was widely criticised for having deliberated on the case for a year, given that a by-election would have been avoided had the court come to a decision before the election.
The by-election was held from 10 November–16 November 2007. His brother, John Tuna Yali, contested the election and stated that he was confident he would win. A total of 21 candidates contested the by-election. The election may have been delayed in some areas for a few days due to weather problems, but by 2007-11-20 voting had been completed in most areas. For the first time, the ballots were counted electronically; writs were returned on 2007-12-07. The by-election was won by Kiap Niuro Toko Sapia with 6,961 votes, while Henry Baiyema was runner-up with 4,503 votes. Sapia contested the election as an independent
after having contested the general election as a PNG Country Party
candidate; he announced he would join the National Alliance Party
.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007.
For the first time, the election did not use first past the post (which has in the past resulted in a very volatile political system, with the election of a candidate being largely a matter of chance due to the large number of candidates), but rather Limited Preferential Voting
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
, in which voters number their three most preferred candidates. PNG Police reported three deaths caused by election-related violence during the election period, a large decrease in the 100 deaths which occurred during the 2002 elections. 11,000 police officers and soldiers were deployed throughout the country to police the elections and keep the peace.
Originally scheduled to end on 10 July, it was decided that the elections would be extended by five days due to delays in transporting ballot boxes caused by bad weather.
Turnout and results
ABC Radio Australia reported that nearly four million votes were cast out of Papua New Guinea's population of about six million.Early results on 15 July indicated that incumbent Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare
Michael Somare
Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, KStJ, MP was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2011; he had previously been Prime Minister from independence in 1975 until 1980 and again from 1982 until 1985. Somare's first two terms were as a member of the Pangu Party, but he then...
's National Alliance Party
National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea)
The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
was picking up more seats than other parties of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was first created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea, but gained its current name with the granting of independence in 1975....
's 109 seats. Final results were largely completed by 6 August, the deadline for the return of writs. Counting in two seats was extended for a few days due to legal challenges halting the counting process. The previous deadline was 30 July, but this was extended due to delays caused by bad weather and disruption of counting by some candidates and scrutineers.
In addition to the seats won by the National Alliance Party directly, thirteen independents joined the party after the election. Together with its coalition partners (which include the People's Action Party
People's Action Party (Papua New Guinea)
The People's Action Party is a right-of-centre political party in Papua New Guinea.At the legislative elections in June 2002, the party won 5 out of 109 seats in total . At the last legislative elections, in June and July 2007, the party won 6 seats. It supports the government of Prime Minister...
, the United Resources Party
United Resources Party
The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 5 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections...
, the Pangu Party
Pangu Party
The Pangu Party or Papua and Niugini Union Pati is a political party in Papua New Guinea.It was founded in 1968 by Michael Somare, who served as prime minister of Papua New Guinea as the leader of the Pangu Party from 1972 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1985...
, the National Party
National Party (Papua New Guinea)
The Papua New Guinea National Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.At the last legislative elections, 15-29 June 2002, the party is said to have won 3 of 109 seats. The party won 1 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections...
, the Melanesian Liberal Party
Melanesian Liberal Party
The Melanesian Liberal Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 2 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections.Following the 2007 election, it initially supported Prime Minister Michael Somare's government, as Party leader Allan Marat was appointed Attorney-General and...
and the Melanesian Alliance Party
Melanesian Alliance Party
The Melanesian Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party was co-founded by John Momis and John Kaputin in the late 1970s. At the last legislative elections, 15-29 June 2002, the party is said to have won 3 of 109 seats. The party won only 1 seat of the 109 seats in the...
) the National Alliance Party had the support of a substantial majority of the newly elected Members of Parliament.
A hundred women had stood as candidates. Only one, Dame Carol Kidu
Carol Kidu
Dame Carol Kidu, Lady Kidu, DBE is an Australian-born Papua New Guinean politician. She is the only current female member of Parliament, and served as Minister for Community Development under Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare from 2002 to 2011...
, was elected, for the Port Moresby South constituency.
On Monday 13 August 2007, the first sitting of Parliament after the election took place. Jeffrey Nape
Jeffrey Nape
Jeffrey Nape, CMG is the Speaker of the National Parliament and twice acting Governor-General of Papua New Guinea. He was elected speaker by the members of the parliament on May 28, 2004, and then immediately became acting governor-general because that office was substantively vacant...
was re-elected as Speaker of the House, and Sir Michael Somare
Michael Somare
Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, KStJ, MP was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2011; he had previously been Prime Minister from independence in 1975 until 1980 and again from 1982 until 1985. Somare's first two terms were as a member of the Pangu Party, but he then...
was once again elected to be the country's Prime Minister, winning 86 votes in the 109-seat Parliament.
James Yali affair
In January 2006, James Yali, governor of Madang ProvinceMadang Province
Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The province has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages...
and Member of Parliament for Rai Coast Open electorate, was convicted of raping his sister-in-law and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment. In May 2007 he allegedly suffered a stroke and was transferred from Beon jail to hospital and placed under guard. A group of supporters and relatives then reportedly retrieved him from hospital by force and escorted him to the office of the Electoral Commission, where he completed an application to stand as an independent candidate for his previously held seat of Rai Coast Open. Despite a recent constitutional amendment that disallows anyone convicted of an indictable offence from running for office, the Electoral Commission accepted his candidacy on the basis that his legal appeal was still underway. This decision later attracted considerable criticism. He remained in hospital until 7 July, conducting his campaign from his hospital bed.
In the 2007 general election, Yali won the Rai Coast Open seat from a field of 28 candidates. His level of support, despite being imprisoned, was widely attributed to fear of his reputation for sorcery.
On 10 August, the Supreme Court quashed Yali's appeal, nullifying his election. The Electoral Commission said that a by-election for Rai Coast Open would be held within three months. The court was widely criticised for having deliberated on the case for a year, given that a by-election would have been avoided had the court come to a decision before the election.
The by-election was held from 10 November–16 November 2007. His brother, John Tuna Yali, contested the election and stated that he was confident he would win. A total of 21 candidates contested the by-election. The election may have been delayed in some areas for a few days due to weather problems, but by 2007-11-20 voting had been completed in most areas. For the first time, the ballots were counted electronically; writs were returned on 2007-12-07. The by-election was won by Kiap Niuro Toko Sapia with 6,961 votes, while Henry Baiyema was runner-up with 4,503 votes. Sapia contested the election as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
after having contested the general election as a PNG Country Party
PNG Country Party
The PNG Country Party is the result of earlier political developments prior to the Independence of Papua New Guinea. There were attempts in 1964 to 1968 in formation of political parties...
candidate; he announced he would join the National Alliance Party
National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea)
The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
.