PM: EC sets polling dates
GENERAL Election 2022 (GE22) polling dates are set by the Electoral Commission (EC) in consultation with the police, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Defence Force and the Correctional Services, and not by political parties, Prime Minister Jame Marape says.
“The polling dates had nothing to do with political parties or Pangu Pati,” he said.
“This is something that only the Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai can decide on. At the end of the day it is not about me or (former prime minister Peter) O’Neill, or Pangu Pati and PNC (People’s National Congress).
“The decision was with security reasons to ensure that there is a safe environment for the people to cast their ballots, for extraction after polling, for counting, etc.
“But the call is with the commissioner, if he has decided on it, then I welcome the decision.”
Marape was responding to Ialibu-Pangia MP O’Neill who raised concerns about the polling dates the EC had set for the Highlands.
O’Neil said that the new polling dates were geared towards helping Pangu Parti receiving an unfair advantage and made no sense in the conduct of a fair and free election.
“To have polling first in Hela and Enga while the rest of Highlands wait for four days will certainly encourage foul play and double voting as people move freely between provinces to vote multiple times,” he said.
“This has been a common practice from the past elections and EC has not learnt from past mistakes,” O’Neil said.
“When the security forces are fresh and ready, elections in Hela, Southern Highlands and Enga should be conducted on the same day.
“These are the most difficult provinces and EC should conduct polling on the same day to avoid double voting and possibility of violence.”
Pangu Pati confident of forming next government
By REBECCA KUKU
THE Pangu Pati and its coalition partners will form the next government, says party leader and Prime Minister James Marape.
“Don’t waste five minutes of your time voting for someone else because the Pangu Pati will be forming the (next) government. That I can say with 100 per cent certainty,” he said.
Marape was in Goroka campaigning for party candidates which includes Mofa Nina Giheno for the Henganofi Open seat. She is the daughter of three-time Henganofi MP John Giheno (1982 to 1997) who was caretaker prime minister following the resignation of Sir Julius Chan in 1997.
“(The) Pangu Pati, and our coalition partners, will be forming Government, and I want Mofa Nina Giheno to be in the engine room,” Marape said.
“Vote for your mother, sister and daughter.
“Remember they will always carry a bilum of food on their heads when they come back to you.
“There were so many applicants for Henganofi but we decided to give Mofa Nina Giheno the chance.
“She is a Kafe woman who deserves your votes.”
Giheno is the managing director of Mofa Coffee. Marape said a vote for Giheno would ensure that Henganofi would be represented in the Pangu-led Government to be formed after the elections.
Marape promises reform of education system
THE Government will reform the education system to ensure all children complete Grade 12, Prime Minister James Marape says.
“We will reform the system to minimise the number of Grade 8 and 10 school dropouts,” Marape said.
“All Papua New Guinean children will complete their Grade 12, so that everyone has a fair chance of making their own mark in the country or the world.
“We will also build more schools to cater for the growing student population.
“We will improve the working conditions for teachers, because we want to ensure that we leave no one behind.”
Marape spoke on his visit to Kabiufa Adventist Secondary School in Goroka last weekend.
Marape, who is also the party leader for the ruling Pangu Pati, said that the party was standing not just for free education but for quality education.
“We will reintroduce agriculture and religion in the public school system so that our children can have life skills and be grounded in the word of God when they complete their education,” he said.
Marape, who is also a former student of the school, told the students that 33 years ago, he sat in the same classroom, ate in the same mess and worked in the fields growing crops.
People urged not to sell ‘constitutional right’
PRIME Minister James Marape is urging the people not to sell their votes “for a plate of rice or a K5” but to vote for change, development and economic freedom.
“Do not sell your constitutional right,” he said.
“Listen to the party policies and vote for what you want to see happening in the next five years, because your five minutes at the polls decides who leads the new Government.”
Marape told a campaign rally for Esa’ala Open party candidate Jimmy Maladina and Milne Bay regional candidate Jennifer Rudd that Pangu was a pro-rural party.
Marape, the Pangu Pati leader, told the people that Pangu believed in government services, infrastructure, and opportunities for all Papua New Guineans.
“Pangu is about the rural people that is why our aim is to connect PNG, to ensure that services are equally distributed so that no matter where you are, in the city, or towns, or villages, you can have access to health, education, clean water and electricity,” he said. “What I can tell you is that you vote Pangu in and we will work towards this in the next five to 10 years.”
Marape said he might not be prime minister again but he wanted to set a path for other leaders to continue the work of ensuring that PNG was connected, that its people were economically independent.