Manwau cites incident of stolen leadership

PARLIAMENT must take serious steps to ensure next year’s general election is conducted freely, fairly, justly and honestly, Wewak MP Dr Moses Manwau has said.
Making his maiden speech last Friday, he asked his fellows MPs if they knew what it felt like to have leadership stolen from them.
Manwau said he had been the victim of “electoral daylight robbery” twice and he had to fight to enter parliament.
He said the country “should be ashamed because when leadership is stolen, it means selling away one’s dignity, identity and integrity”.
“Has this parliament ever heard of stealing leadership?
“Well, it happened to me not once but twice, first in  the counting room and, secondly, in the courtroom,’ he said.
He said that it was fitting to make his statement on the floor of parliament because they were on the eve of the 2012 national election.
“Parliament must take serious steps and action to ensure the 2012 national election are going to be conducted freely, fairly, justly and honestly,” he said.
“Parliament has the responsibility to authorise the electoral commission to conduct elections according to law.
“The commission spends huge amounts of taxpayers’ money to conduct elections on the principles of a free, fair, just and honest election.
“What total hypocrisy on the side of the Electoral Commission?
“The commission did not choose to defend and support my application but went out of its way to support the illegal and unlawful election practices.
“Beware, you may become an innocent victim just like me, not from the voters but from the hunted turned hunter (Electoral Commission),” he said.
He said his journey to parliament was indeed eventful, turbulent and totally painful and he had
to go through a court battle for the past four years to win his right.
Manwau said it was through his lawyer, Moses Murray, that he managed
to enter parliament to get back the leadership that was “stolen” from him.