Lae seat on debate

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday June 24th, 2013

 By ELLEN TIAMU

A CANDIDATE for Ahi president said comments by incumbent president Sam Agi that non-Ahi people should not contest for the seat was unrealistic.

The contestant, a ward councillor who did not want to be named, said Ahi Urban, situa­ted on the fringes of Lae, had become a 

cosmopolitan area and anyone had the right to contest in the LLG elections.  

“While I respect the Ahi people and their concerns in retaining the presidency, Lae has become a city for all Pa­pua New Guineans and many of these people are now living on Ahi land but when it comes to elections, everyone, as citizens, has the right to contest or cast their vote in a democratic manner,” he said.

“If the Ahi people, and others, decide they want to vote in an Ahi local, that’s fine and if the numbers go to a non-Ahi, I think that’s fine too so long as the chosen leader works for the good of the LLG, which includes Ahi villages.”