Congratulations Isoaimo on rare feat

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday February 17th, 2014

 NEWLY elected Kairuku-Hiri MP Peter Isoaimo has achieved a rare feat in national politics.

Not only did Isoaimo, a political novice, instigate a successful election petition against former MP Paru Aihi last year but after intensive campaigning he emerged victorious after the counting and final elimination process were completed on Saturday night.

The National Alliance candidate won convincingly with a final tally of 20,792 votes – 3,123 more than runner-up Aihi, who was heavily backed by the People’s National Congress (PNC) party of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

The 44-year-old Isoaimo, from Inauwii village, in Mekeo district, Central, was declared the winner at 7pm by election manager Kila Egaba. 

He will serve the people of Kairuku-Hiri for a shorter term until the next general election in June 2017.

Aihi’s loss squashed O’Neill’s hopes of scoring a half century for PNC and the prime minister will have to wait for another by-election to achieve that feat.

O’Neill had campaigned aggressively for Aihi to retain Kairuku-Hiri just like he did in Madang for re-elected MP Nixon Duban but Isoaimo’s clean win abruptly ended PNC’s plans for another celebration.

Nonetheless, the prime minister sent a message to National Alliance leader Patrick Pruaitch to convey his congratulations to the new MP and welcome him to the government ranks.

In the meantime, Aihi’s former education ministry is likely to remain under the care of PNC strongman and Finance Minister James Marape until the anticipated cabinet reshuffle during this quarter.

It was heartening to see the grand old man of Papua New Guinea politics, Sir Michael Somare, at the Institute of Public Administration on Saturday night to escort his party’s newest MP into the counting venue to be declared winner. 

The scene was reminiscent of the glory days of the National Alliance when the grand chief was at the helm of arguably the most successful party in our political history. 

Isoaimo was quick off the mark by assuring his distinguished leaders and jubilant supporters that his service to the people of Kairuku-Hiri had just begun. 

He emphasised his need for total support from the political leadership and the government bureaucracy to effectively deliver services to his people.

We sympathise with the new MP and his predecessors who have had to face an arduous task of serving a relatively large electorate, which is divided by the National Capital District.

Kairuku-Hiri is home to the Kairuku people, who occupy the north-western part of the electorate, and the Hiri people or Motuans, who occupy the southeast part, including the NCD coastline. These two ethnic groupings have their traditional and modern-day differences, which make the task all the more cumbersome for their MP.

Isoaimo hails from the Kairuku side and will have to work doubly hard if he wants to satisfy the Motuans. 

He may choose not to, as it is likely that most of them would not have voted for him, but that would be foolish in the long run.

Of course, the National Alliance and its coalition partners will expect their new MP to do the right thing by serving the whole electorate. 

At the outset, Isoaimo has insisted that he will not allow political differences to mar his term in office.

While there have been calls for Kairuku-Hiri to be split into two electorates, it is not as difficult as many other electorates as most of it is accessible by road. 

Isoaimo does not face the kind of difficulties that many other MPs face, especially in the Highlands and in remote electorates, which are mostly accessible by air transport.

As well, Kairuku-Hiri’s main advantage is its close proximity to the NCD and the seat of government. 

The new MP should have easier access to the Waigani bureaucracy than most other parliamentarians.

Indeed, there is a lack of valid reasons for Kairuku-Hiri to be split in two. Not only will it cost more money to administer two separate electorates but an extra voice in Parliament will not necessarily mean the people will be better served.