Petition against Gure dismissed

The National Main Stories

By Alphonse Porau
The Waigani National Court has dismissed an election petition challenging the declaration of Rigo MP Lekwa Gure after it found the petition incompetent.
The petition was filed by former Rigo MP Ano Pala on grounds of bribery and errors and omissions by Gure and the Electoral Commission.
The petition was ruled incompetent on the grounds that it not set out any facts to support the allegations.
Justice William Neil dismissed the petition and upheld the objection to competency filed by Gure and the Electoral Commission.
Pala filed the petition on Aug 31, 2017 to challenge the declaration of the Rigo Open seat based on allegations that;

  • The first respondent (Gure) by way of bribery contributed K100 to a rugby league club to induce them to vote for him;
  • Gure used his agents to give two envelopes containing money to a village councillor to distribute by way of inducing them to vote for him; and,
  • The second respondent (Electoral Commission) made errors in tallying the votes.

Justice Neil ruled that the petition was incompetent because the allegations could not be supported by facts.
The court also ordered Pala to pay Gure and the Electoral Commission’s legal costs.