Election petition against Marape dismissed

AN election petition filed by candidate John Pokaya against Tari-Pori MP James Marape for alleged bribery and undue influence during last year’s general election was yesterday dismissed by the Waigani National Court.
Justice David Cannings found that the petitioner failed to prove the allegation of bribery.
Marape the first respondent and the Electoral Commission the second respondent.
Pokaya, the petitioner, claimed through his lawyer, that Marape had given K10,000 to Tebi local level government president Tawi Pulumaya in the presence of five other persons two days before polling started and advised them to distribute the cash at a rate of K100 per voter at the Kuku 2 polling area and advise voters to vote for him.
He also alleged that one of the persons present at that time was David Hangube, who also appeared as a witness for the petitioner, and that he was given K2000 and used at least K800 to give to his family members to get them to vote Marape.
Justice Cannings upheld that Hangube’s evidence was unconvincing, uncorroborated and not credible due to his testimony in which he stated that he was a former supporter of Marape and had switched because he had failed to pay him a commission after winning the 2012 elections.
After having weighed the competing evidence and submissions, he said: “I am not entirely satisfied that David Hangube gave K100 cash or any amount of cash to any of the petitioner witnesses on June 25, 2017, or at any other time.”
Justice Cannings said all grounds of the petition had failed.