Lawlessness – PNG’s drawback

 PAPUA New Guinea is a thriving democracy, one of the few among developing countries.

Next month, citizens of this country will celebrate 38 years of political independence that was achieved without blood shed, and rather smoothly.

In the ensuing years, PNG has faced many challenges of nation-building and survived several major political crisis that have threatened its democratic system of government.

In the eyes of the world, we have had a pretty good run without the kind of political, social and economic upheavals that have beset and ruined many nations in the recent past.

PNG may be the envy of many developing countries, whose citizens dream of democratic rights such as freedom of speech, but the country faces other serious issues that threaten to dismantle its democratic processes and institutions.

These include corruption and other law and order issues that have the potential to cause collateral damage to our system of government and the economy.

Corruption had become endemic in this country, especially in the past two decades, and the Government’s move to set up the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is indeed a step in the right direction to address this issue.

Law and order issues have been a thorn in the side of successive governments since independence and the current government has moved quickly to address them, including enacting tougher laws and penalties for serious crimes.

The O’Neill Government has also sought the assistance of Australian federal and Queensland state police to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Royal PNG Constabulary. 

Despite these commendable initiatives, law and order issues continue to seriously affect government processes, business operations and community activities throughout the country.

Just last Thursday, Electoral Commission Andrew Trawen declared failed elections in 19 local level governments in six Highlands provinces where he claimed that chronic violence and illegal activities had marred the electoral process.

The provinces are Enga, Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands and Hela, with Chimbu being the only Highlands province with trouble-free elections.

As usual, it is the lawless minority whose chronic violence and illegal activities have brought shame to the majority of law-abiding citizens of these six provinces. 

On the other hand, the people of Chimbu should be proud of their behaviour and achievements during the LLG elections as they have proven that they truly uphold the principles of free, fair and safe elections.

The election process is an essential part of our democratic system of government and enables citizens to choose their representatives in the local, provincial and national levels of government. Without this electoral process, we would not have “a government for the people by the people”.

And to ensure the success of these elections, citizens are required to participate in a lawful and responsible manner by adhering to the laws and regulations that govern this vital process.

They are also required to keep the peace by refraining from causing trouble or being involved in illegal activities that may disrupt and impair the electoral process.

Election violence is not new to this country and has marred several national elections in the past. 

There have been worse cases of election violence but the recent incidents in the in the six Highlands provinces should send a clear message to our political leaders that a concerted effort is needed urgently to stamp out such lawlessness and related illegal activities that threaten to dismantle a fundamental democratic process.

Trawen’s decision to declare failed elections in these provinces has far-reaching consequences.

How will the Electoral Commission and the Government recover the millions of kina of public monies and resources that have been wasted as a result of these failed elections?

Supplementary elections, another costly exercise, will now be held to ensure the LLG elections in those provinces are completed successfully.

The onus is now on the national and provincial governments and authorities such as the police force to ensure that the lawless minority in those Highlands provinces do not hijack the supplement elections.