Power in the hands of Papua New Guineans

By SAM VULUM
TOMORROW is the last day of campaigning for Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s General Election 2022 as voters prepare to cast their ballots from Monday to July 22.
After about 60 days of grueling campaigning by the 3,625 candidates (3,458 men and 167 women), Papua New Guineans need to think hard and decide who they trust to be their leaders to lead them into a brighter future in the 21st Century digital era.
The 118 winning candidates (including 22 provincial governors) will then be sworn into Parliament as they realigned their political friends to form a ruling coalition to govern PNG for the next five years.
The new Government and 9th prime minister would be formed much easier if a single party wins the majority of seats in Parliament – that is 60 seats or more. This scenario is, however, quite remote but not impossible.
In politics, nothing is cast in stone, meaning anything can happen or develop.
But no rivalry could be more profound than the tussle between former prime minister Peter O’Neill and Prime Minister James Marape that had gone from contesting their policies, performances, achievements, failures and future policies to attacks on everything else political.
Theirs was a battle fought like no other, at least as far as the history of past elections were concerned. The country had never seen such bitter rivalry among a former PM and an incumbent in a GE.
Whether it was bitterness or something else that existed between the two, developed from when Marape wrestled power from O’Neill in 2019 and had picked up intensity during the campaign period.
One was expected to be bitter, especially after both were political allies for years until a fallout in April 2019.
Marape, then finance minister in O’Neill’s Government, called a press conference and made a shock announcement that he was resigning from his ministry. It set a period of political uncertainty that finally ended more than a month later, with Marape winning the majority support of the then 111 MPs, and being sworn in as the new prime minister.
This seemed to have formed the basis for all the mud-slinging against each other, including their unreserved public proclamations of their intentions for the prime minister’s post. They made no secret about their interests in the top job which they flouted in the many campaign rallies they conducted in their nationwide electoral tour.
Marape set the fire burning in May when he dared O’Neill to take him on in a live public debate to show what he had done during his eight-year-term.
Marape said he was willing to debate the former prime minister in either University of PNG or University of Technology.
“I will bring my three years to the table, O’Neill will bring any three years to his table, where we will talk about inflation, loans and what we have achieved,” he retorted.
In response, O’Neill said Marape “is simply lost and looking for things to say”.
He added that Pangu Pati had no policies and therefore had nothing to debate.
The challenges became somewhat emotional during the debate over the state of the economy when Marape told O’Neill: “This is the fact, a fact that is absolutely contrary to what O’Neill has been spinning lately that he had fixed the economy of the country. So guess what, to the doomsayers and those in the Opposition, the World Bank in March reported that PNG’s economy will hit K109 billion by the end of this year.
“In three hard years, by God’s grace and by using an economic tool called deficit budget financing strategy, we kept the economy operational.
“James Marape is not stupid. I am the son of the everyday Papua New Guinea – I know what it feels like and how to help everyone right across the country.
“So Mr O’Neill, I am telling you, in eight good years, when my gas was flowing out in 2027 and become debt free by 2034, the road we are travelling on is good.”
The challenges reached a level where it was neither serious nor funny or both, when Marape said that he would resign from politics if he failed to retain his Tari-Pori seat or become the prime minister. He said this in Tari and later in O’Neill’s Ialibu-Pangia electorate.
O’Neill later touted Marape’s “Take back PNG and making the country the richest black nation” slogan/rhetoric, saying: “We are black already, we are rich already. But we are very poor in leadership.”
Marape defended vehemently, saying that “Taking back PNG and making it the richest country” was about giving economic independence to the people.
In between all these, both leaders attempted to drive home the policies of their parties which they intended to pursue upon their election into office.
Among others, Marape campaigned strongly on focusing on providing quality education and addressing law and order that involved fighting corruption.
Others included focusing on agriculture and connecting rural areas with roads and government services.
O’Neill spoke about working on improving the economy, continuing free education and improving the health sector, splitting electorates to enable fair distribution of services, developing agriculture, promoting people-focused policies and others.
Both hoped that all that had been expressed during the campaign would have some bearing on people’s choices for leaders in the ballot boxes – the choices that would take both leaders towards achieving their aims for the country’s top post.
One was confident of forming the government against the other. Marape once said: “Do not waste five minutes of your time voting for someone else because the Pangu Pati will be forming the next Government (for the next five years after GE22). That I can say with 100 per cent certainty,” he said when campaigning in Heganofi, Eastern Highlands.
Speaking in Gulf, Marape said: “Pangu Party will come back as Government.
“See you on the other side of the election.”
O’Neill tried not to openly say much about his intentions. He once indirectly said: “And we will look forward to coming back, if it is the wish of the people (for us) to form Government.”
Marape’s confidence was based on a high probability of success with 82 candidates, most of whom are incumbent MPs that would give him the number to form the Government.
History showed incumbent governments were usually returned in general elections, but Marape was up against a well-funded and well-organised campaign from O’Neill.
O’Neill, who appeared to have campaigned for his candidates in more places than Marape, had fielded a strong team of 94 candidates – the highest among political parties. Some were sitting MPs, former MPs and some were new faces.
As contenders for the top post, both have fielded the first and second highest number of candidates, giving them better chances of collecting the numbers necessary to be invited to form government.
Others that could be a part of king players, depending on the number of seqats they win, include PNG Party (contesting 80 seats), National Alliance (62), People’s First Party (32), PAP (49), URP (49) and Triumph Heritage Party (30).
The outcome is still in the hands of the ordinary man in the street – Papua New Guinean voters armed with ballots.