By-elections must go on as planned

 WHY do we get the impression that the by-election for the West Sepik Regional seat is headed for another disaster?

Last Thursday Electoral Com­missioner Andrew Tra­wen expressed grave doubts about the successful completion of the West Sepik and Goilala by-elections because of inadequate funding.

Trawen warned that both impending polls would be “total failures” if the Department of Treasury did not release the balance of funding before the issuing of writs on May 14.

We now hear that Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah has vowed to hold onto the Governor’s position even if a new regional MP is elected. 

The regional seat was vacated by Amkat Mai after the court of disputed returns decided against his 2012 general election victory.

Namah was elected governor by 13 local level government (LLG) presidents in the Sandaun provincial assembly on April 22. 

He said on Saturday after returning from an overseas trip that there was no need for him to resign as Vanimo-Green MP to contest the by-election and confirm him as governor of the border province. 

“I am already the governor. Whoever will be declared after the West Sepik regional by-election will just be an ordinary regional MP.”

The former Opposition leader even claimed that the Organic Law on the Provincial and Local Level Government allowed him to hold on to the governor’s position.

We are not so sure about Namah’s claim and are inclined to agree with Law Reform Commission Secretary Dr Eric Kwa that the Vanimo-Green MP can remain in his new-found role until the return of writs and the declaration of a new governor.

Namah is well-known for his firebrand politics. His “never say die” spirit has been his hallmark – from the early days as a Defence Force soldier and a key figure in the Sandline affair in the 1990s to his first-term election to Parliament in 2007 and subsequent elevation to deputy prime minister under controversial circumstances in August 2011. 

His re-election in the 2012 general election was another personal achievement for Namah but his split from the coalition with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill – less than a year after their infamous parliamentary coup to remove the Somare regime – and the subsequent formation of a new O’Neill-led government was an anti-climax, which continues to haunt the PNG Party leader.

Seemingly, Namah’s political career has seen more “downs” than “ups”.

Following his short stint as Opposition leader, Namah went into a brief hibernation until last month when he seized the opportunity of the vacancy in the governor’s seat to rally support from provincial assembly members and get himself elected.

It was a surprising but calculated move.

Despite what Dr Kwa and other experts say, Namah intends to occupy the governor’s seat for a while, even after the new regional MP is elected.

Moreover, Namah has no intention of contesting the by-election, which he says will be taken care of by a PNG Party candidate.

With the issuing of writs in 10 days’ time, Namah has thrown down the gauntlet to the relevant authorities, including Deputy Prime Minister and Inter-Government Relations Minister Leo Dion.

While the law may not permit Namah to remain governor after the by-election, he could get the new regional MP to “voluntarily” take the back seat.  

Whatever the outcome of the by-election, the political scenario in the border province will never be the same again, not as long as Namah is in the thick of it.

And to add more fuel to the Sandaun fire, former governor John Tekwie has raised concern over the appointment of an assistant returning officer for the by-election.

He claims the officer, who was appointed by the Electoral Commission, is the same person who officiated during the election in the Telefomin district in 2012.  

Tekwie has every reason to complain because he was the petitioner who successfully challenged the election of Amkat Mai as governor in court on the allegations of underage voting in Telefomin.

Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen has some explaining to do.