MP respects court’s ruling

 GORDON Wesley says he respects a National Court decision nullifying his election as the Samarai-Murua MP.

But he told reporters yesterday that he had instructed his lawyers to appeal the decision by Justice Ere Kariko in the National Court in Alotau last Saturday.

The court found that Wesley, a third-time MP from the People’s National Congress, was guilty of one of the five bribery allegations levelled against him in an election petition filed by runner-up Isi Henry Leonard. The bribery allegation that the court upheld was the presentation of a truck by Wesley to Bagalina village on Misima Island on May 23, 2012. It was during the 2012 general election campaign.

He said his victories in the general election had always been challenged in the Court of Disputed Returns.

But he accepted the court’s decision, nullifying his election victory in 2012.

“I humbly respect the decision of the court and I urge all my supporters to respect the court’s decision and allow due process to take its course,” he said.