By-election upheld

By BEVERLY PETER
THE Supreme Court in Port Moresby yesterday upheld a National Court decision for a by-election for the Aitape-Lumi seat in West Sepik.
A polling scheduled to that effect was yet to be released by the Electoral Commission.
After getting judicial approval, Aitape-Lumi now becomes the third disputed electorate to be listed for a by-election.
According to an earlier announcement by the Electoral Commission, writs for the Sohe Open, in Northern, and East Sepik’s Maprik Open seats by-elections would be issued this month.
However, no confirmation could be obtained from the commission at press time last night.
The National Court in Wewak on Jan 4 ordered the Aitape-Lumi by-election after finding MP Anderson Mise guilty of committing bribery during General Election 2022.
Mise then filed for leave for a judicial review at the higher court which was dismissed by Justice Les Gavara-Nanu yesterday.
Grounds for objection by petitioner Patrick Pruaitch, made through his lawyer Philip Tabuchi, were upheld.
Justice Gavara-Nanu found that Mise’s leave application was incompetent on the basis that it did not properly involve the jurisdiction of the court.
Another ground for incompetency was that Mise had signed his application as the Aitape-Lumi MP when he was no longer a member of Parliament, after the National Court nullified his win and ordered a by-election.
“It is a serious matter where he (Mise) named himself the MP when he was not. It is not a matter of nit-picking,” Justice Gavara-Nanu said.
The court also made reference to the K5,000 securities for cost of the leave application which was deposited at the bank into the trust account of the National and Supreme Court registrar. The application for leave to review was then made at the registry the next day.
Justice Gavara-Nanu pointed out that rules were there to protect the court processes and there must be in strict compliance.
“It is important that the appellant (Mise) is present at the registry at the time of filing to make the payment as it show that the person making the application is serious in challenging the public officer,” he said.
“When you pay at the bank, it is unclear as to who actually paid the fee.”
The Supreme Court then refused the leave to review the application and upheld the National Court decision, declaring Mise’s win void and confirmed the by-election for Aitape-Lumi.
Mise polled 16,629 votes to beat National Alliance Party man Pruaitch, on 9,924 in 2022.
Outside court, Pruaitch said he was robbed of a win and was looking forward to the by-election.
“Justice has prevailed through the decision of both the National and Supreme courts.
“I am looking forward to the by-election and appeal to the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure the people of Aitape-Lumi have a representation in Parliament,” he said.
Meanwhile, writs for Northern’s Sohe and the Maprik Open seats by-elections would be issued today.
The Electoral Commission is yet to decide on a polling schedule for the Aitape-Lumi by-election.