Politics of Papua New Guinea

The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic multi-party system, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Papua New Guinea is an independent Commonwealth realm, with the monarch serving as head of state and a governor-general, nominated by the National Parliament, serving as their representative. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.

Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Executive branch

Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as king. The monarch's representative is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea, who is elected by the unicameral National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are the only realms in which the governor-general is elected by parliament; the governor-general is still formally appointed by the monarch per parliamentary vote. The governor general acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.

The Constitution of Papua New Guinea provides for the executive to be responsible to parliament as the representative of the Papua New Guinean people. The National Parliament elects the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, who is then appointed by the governor-general. The other ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the prime minister's advice and form the National Executive Council of Papua New Guinea, which acts as the country's cabinet. The National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 21 provinces and the National Capital District, and sits for a maximum of five years. Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election.

The governments of Papua New Guinea are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions.

The prime minister, elected by Parliament, chooses the other members of the cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant, who directs the staff of the ministry. The cabinet consists of members, including the prime minister and ministers of executive departments. They answer politically to the parliament.

The governor general appoints the chief justice of the supreme court on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. The governor general appoints the other justices with the advice of a judicial commission.

Legislative branch

thumb|upright|The Parliament building of Papua New Guinea in [[Port Moresby]]

thumb|Side of the parliament building

Papua New Guinea has a unicameral National Parliament, previously known as the House of Assembly. It has 118 seats, with 96 elected from single-member "Open" electorates representing districts, and 22 from province-level "Provincial" electorates (20 provinces, the National Capital District, and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville). There have only been seven women elected to parliament ever, one of the lowest rates of legislative representation in the world. Proposals to have nominated (unelected) women MPs have not gained support.

Political parties and elections

Papua New Guinea has maintained continuous democratic elections and changes in government since independence. While seat results are often contested, the overall results of elections are accepted. Voting now takes place through the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the alternative vote. This is intended to reduce confrontation due to the need to court second and third preferences, as well as provide outlets for those, especially women, who might be pressured to select one candidate by others to also vote for their preferred candidate.

While political parties exist, they are not ideologically differentiated. Instead they generally reflect the alliances made between their members, and have little relevance outside of elections. All governments since 1972 have been coalitions, and the number of independent candidates that run has increased. Having no party makes it easier for winning politicians to negotiate with those trying to establish a majority coalition. When formed, such coalitions are unstable due to the potential for party hopping, Opposition MPs have been appointed to government. Many parties might run on similar platforms, with common policies including rural development, better health, education, and other public services, and being anti-corruption. This further weakens policy debate, as candidates campaign on local representation rather than their platforms. An increasing reliance on judicial methods to combat the government has increased the risk of the judiciary being seen as politicised. Coalitions that emerge during mid-term political disputes however may be much closer to a basic majority. multiple prime ministers have pre-emptively resigned to try and engineer reselection or adjourned parliament in order to avoid them. In October 2016, the government of Peter O'Neill launched a motion of no confidence against itself while much of the opposition was absent, which was voted down 78 to 2. (This does not apply in the final 12 months of a parliament, when a successful motion of no confidence would lead directly to an election. Regional and local identities are strong, and traditional politics has integrated with the modern political system. However, outside of Bougainville, regional politics are autonomist rather than separatist, with separatism often used as rhetoric rather than as an ultimate goal. The importance of community ties to their land are reflected in the legal system, with 97% of the country designated as customary land, held by communities. Many such effective titles remain unregistered and effectively informal.

Voting often occurs along tribal lines, Bloc voting is practiced by some communities, especially in the highlands. Large numbers of independent candidates means that winners are often elected on very small pluralities, including winning less than 10% of votes. Such results raise concerns about the mandates provided by elections. This has led to the impression that politics is a type of business. Parties in parliament serve primarily as factions. They have no particular hold on MPs, This has generated significant cynicism, and reduced the perceived legitimacy of the national government. The control of such funds may also contribute to commonality and severity of electoral violence. This exacerbates national political stability, keeping political contests local and focused on allegiances. Former Prime Minister Mekere Morauta described corruption as "systematic and systemic". Constituency boundaries are the same as administrative boundaries, strengthening the conceptual link between elections and service provisions. This also distorts politics, by making electoral boundaries unresponsive to changes in population. Changing these boundaries to reflect population is hindered by the vested interests of those elected under the current system. While the Electoral Boundaries Commission proposed changes in 1981, 1986, 1991, and 2006, all were rejected by parliament. In 2021, an Electoral Boundaries Commission report proposed adding 12 districts. On 23 March 2022 Parliament approved the creation of seven new districts, the first change since independence, and occurring prior to the 2022 Papua New Guinean general election. This brought the number of districts to 96, meaning there were 118 seats total. The district creation was challenged with accusations of gerrymandering, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea meant the 2021 census was postponed, meaning the district creation relied on outdated data. While the district creation is unlikely to directly benefit the government, the new districts were not concentrated in the most overpopulated districts of the 2011 census. Rural communities have a much more difficult time accessing government services, with facilities such as banking sometimes being days of travel away. they are significant in many aspects of government, commercial, sporting, and other activities. The nation has 22 province-level divisions: twenty provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. Each province is divided into districts (with 89 overall), which in turn are divided into one or more Local-Level Government areas (LLGs). There are over 300 LLGs, which are divided between a small number of urban LLGs, and rural LLGs, which have slightly different governance structures. The smallest province by size and population, Manus, has just one coterminous district. Provinces are the primary administrative divisions of the country, with provincial governments consisting of the national MPs elected from that province. Local governments exist parallel to traditional tribal leadership. They are very dissimilar in population: the most populous six make up half of the national population, while the smallest six make up 14%. Provinces can levy their own taxes, and have some control over education, health, and development. The province-level divisions are as follows:

Central
Chimbu (Simbu)
Eastern Highlands
East New Britain
East Sepik
Enga
Gulf
Madang
Manus
Milne Bay
Morobe

<li>New Ireland</li>

<li>Northern (Oro Province)</li>

<li>Bougainville (autonomous region)</li>

<li>Southern Highlands</li>

<li>Western Province (Fly)</li>

<li>Western Highlands</li>

<li>West New Britain</li>

<li>West Sepik (Sandaun)</li>

<li>National Capital District</li>

<li>Jiwaka</li>

</ol>

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right|400px|Provinces of Papua New Guinea.

North Solomons (Bougainville)

thumb|Panguna mine

On Bougainville Island, initially focused on traditional land rights, environmental and economic issues stemming from the operation of the Panguna mine, (a Conzinc RioTinto Australia (now Rio Tinto Limited) and PNG government joint venture), a civil war quickly grew into a war for independence from PNG.

From early 1989 until a truce came into effect in October 1997 and a permanent cease-fire was signed in April 1998 as many as 20,000 people were killed. Under the eyes of a regional peace-monitoring force and a United Nations observer mission, the government and provincial leaders established an interim government. In 2019 a non-binding referendum was held in which 98.31% of voters voted in favor of independence.

The people of Bougainville are closely related to those of the nearby Solomon Islands.

Instability

thumb|Peter O'Neill

thumb|Michael Somare

The Morauta government brought in a series of electoral reforms in 2001, designed to address instability and corruption. Among the reforms was the introduction of the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a modified version of Alternative vote, for future elections in PNG. (The introduction of LPV was partly in response to calls for changes in the voting system by Transparency International and the European Union.) The first general election to use LPV was held in 2007.

There are many parties, but party allegiances are weak. Winning candidates are usually courted in efforts to forge the majority needed to form a government, and allegiances are fluid. No single party has yet won enough seats to form a government in its own right.

Papua New Guinea has a history of changes in government coalitions and leadership from within Parliament during the five-year intervals between national elections. New governments are protected by law from votes of no confidence for the first 18 months of their incumbency, and no votes of no confidence may be moved in the 12 months preceding a national election.

On Bougainville Island, a rebellion occurred from early 1989 until a truce came into effect in October 1997 and a permanent cease-fire was signed in April 1998. Under the eyes of a regional peace-monitoring force and a United Nations observer mission, the government and provincial leaders established an interim government and made efforts toward toward election of a provincial government and a referendum on independence, the latter of which occurred in 2019. Michael Somare was reelected Prime Minister, a position he also held in the country's first parliament after independence, in 2002, where he won amidst violence-marred polling. Supplementary elections were held in Southern Highlands province in June 2003 after record levels of electoral fraud and intimidation during the 2002 polls.

A study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, entitled "Strengthening our neighbour: Australia and the future of Papua New Guinea" and published in December 2004 found that PNG's weak government and policing has allowed organized crime gangs to relocate from Southeast Asia in recent years.

2011–12 political crisis

From 2011 to 2012, there was a constitutional dispute between parliament and Peter O'Neill and the judiciary, governor-general and Sir Michael Somare. The crisis involved the status of the prime minister and who is the legitimate head of government between O'Neill and Somare.

After 2019

In May 2019, James Marape was appointed as the new prime minister, after a tumultuous few months in the country’s political life. Marape was a key minister in his predecessor Peter O’Neill’s government, and his defection from the government to the opposition camp had finally led to O’Neill’s resignation from office. In July 2022, Prime Minister James Marape's PANGU Party secured the most seats of any party in the election, meaning James Marape was elected to continue as PNG's Prime Minister.

Foreign relations

thumb|APEC 2018 in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbours Australia, Indonesia, and Solomon Islands, while also building links to Asian countries to the north. Tensions sometimes emerge with Australia due to changes in aid, while regional conflicts have complicated relations with Solomon Islands and Indonesia, due to the Bougainville conflict and the Papua conflict respectively. In 1986, Papua New Guinea became a founding member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group alongside Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the three signed a formal cooperation agreement in 1988. A cooperation treaty was signed with Indonesia in 1986, and Australia in 1987.

Papua New Guinea has provided support to Indonesia's control of neighbouring Western New Guinea, the focus of the Papua conflict where numerous human rights violations have reportedly been committed by the Indonesian security forces. Those living in communities near the border are able to cross it for customary purposes. Australia remains linked to Papua New Guinea through institutional and cultural ties, and has remained the most consistent provider of foreign aid, as well as providing peacekeeping and security assistance. There are growing ties to China, mostly as a source of infrastructure investments.

Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1976, followed later by special observer status in 1981. It has filed its application for full membership status. Papua New Guinea is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Pacific Community, the Pacific Islands Forum, APEC, and the United Nations. Papua New Guinea is part of the ACP forum associated with the European Union.

International organization participation

ACP, APEC, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, IFRCS, IMO, ICRM, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW, SPF, Sparteca, SPC, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Military

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It consists of three wings. Its primary role is internal security, although it also patrols the border with Indonesia and the country's exclusive economic zone. The Land Element has seven units: the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, a special forces unit, a battalion of engineers, three other small units primarily dealing with signals and health, and a military academy. The Air Element consists of one aircraft squadron, which transports the other military wings. The Maritime Element consists of four s, three ex-Australian landing craft, and one . One of the landing craft is used as a training ship. Three more Guardian-class patrol boats are under construction in Australia to replace the old Pacific-class vessels. The main tasks of the Maritime Element are to patrol inshore waters and to transport the Land Element. Because of its extensive coastline, Papua New Guinea has a very large exclusive economic zone. The Maritime Element relies heavily on satellite imagery to surveil the country's waters. Patrolling is generally ineffective because underfunding often leaves the patrol boats unserviceable. This problem will be partially corrected when the larger Guardian-class patrol boats enter service.

Law

thumb|upright|The Parliament building of Papua New Guinea in [[Port Moresby]]

The unicameral Parliament enacts legislation like in other Commonwealth realms that use the Westminster system of government. The cabinet collectively agrees on government policy, and then the relevant minister introduces bills to Parliament, depending on which government department is responsible for implementing a particular law. Backbench members of parliament can also introduce bills. Parliament debates bills (section 110.1 of the Constitution), which become enacted laws when the Speaker certifies that Parliament has passed them. There is no Royal assent.

All ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament must be consistent with the Constitution. The courts have jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of statutes, both in disputes before them and on a reference where there is no dispute but only an abstract question of law. Unusually among developing countries, the judicial branch of government in Papua New Guinea has remained remarkably independent, and successive executive governments have continued to respect its authority.

The "underlying law" (Papua New Guinea's common law) consists of principles and rules of common law and equity in English common law as it stood on 16 September 1975 (the date of independence), and thereafter the decisions of PNG's own courts. The Constitution directs the courts and, latterly, the Underlying Law Act to take note of the "custom" of traditional communities. They are to determine which customs are common to the whole country and may also be declared to be part of the underlying law. In practice, this has proved difficult and has been largely neglected. Statutes are largely adapted from overseas jurisdictions, primarily Australia and England. Advocacy in the courts follows the adversarial pattern of other common-law countries. This national court system, used in towns and cities, is supported by a village court system in the more remote areas. The law underpinning the village courts is 'customary law'.

Crime and human rights

thumb|right|Papua New Guinean children, men and women show their support for putting an end to violence against women during a [[White Ribbon Campaign|White Ribbon Day march.]]

Papua New Guinea is considered to have one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world. Such violence imposes both personal and communal costs, and is likely a reason why female participation in politics is the lowest in the region, and deters parents from sending their daughters to school. A 2013 study found that 27% of men on Bougainville Island reported having raped a non-partner, while 14.1% reported having committed gang rape. According to UNICEF, nearly half of reported rape victims are under 15 years old, and 13% are under 7 years old. Former Parliamentarian Carol Kidu stated that 50% of those seeking medical help after rape are under 16, 25% are under 12, and 10% are under 8. Under Dame Carol's term as Minister for Community Development, Parliament passed the Family Protection Act (2013) and the Lukautim Pikini Act (2015), although the Family Protection Regulation was not approved until 2017, delaying its application in the Courts. Changing views on violence being a normal part of relationships is a key part of efforts to decrease such violence.

The 1971 Sorcery Act allowed for accusations of sorcery to act as a defence for murder until the act was repealed in 2013. An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea. A Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusation Related National Action Plan was approved by the Government in 2015, although funding and application has been deficient. Both men and women can be accused of sorcery, although in some areas it is more common for one gender to be accused. Accusations in Bougainville generally target men, while in the Highlands such accusations generally target women.

While tribal violence has long been a way of life in the highlands regions, an increase in firearms has led to greater loss of life. In the past, rival groups had been known to utilise axes, bush knives and traditional weapons, as well as respecting rules of engagement that prevented violence while hunting or at markets. These norms have been changing with a greater uptake of firearms. These are believed to be losses from government armouries, as well as sourced from smuggling operations over the border into Indonesia. Only 1/5th of 5000 Australian-made Self Loading Rifles and half of the 2000 M16s delivered to the PNGDF from the 1970s-1990s were found in government armouries during an audit in 2004 and 2005. Violence between raskol gangs occurs in both urban and rural areas, and some gangs have become linked to politicians. Raskol violence has had a marked impact on economic activity in rural areas.

Royal PNG Constabulary

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary is responsible for maintaining law and order. It has been challenged in this as more advanced weaponry exacerbates tribal conflicts, as well as being unable to prevent violence against women. The weaknesses of police capacity, poor working conditions and recommendations to address them were the subject of the 2004 Royal PNG Constabulary Administrative Review to the Minister for Internal Security.

In 2011, Commissioner for Police Anthony Wagambie took the unusual step of asking the public to report police asking for payments for performing their duties.

In September 2020, Minister for Police Bryan Jared Kramer launched a broadside on Facebook against his own police department, which was subsequently reported in the international media. In the post, Kramer accused the Royal PNG Constabulary of widespread corruption, claiming that "Senior officers based in Police Headquarters in Port Moresby were stealing from their own retired officers’ pension funds. They were implicated in organised crime, drug syndicates, smuggling firearms, stealing fuel, insurance scams, and even misusing police allowances. They misused tens of millions of kina allocated for police housing, resources, and welfare. We also uncovered many cases of senior officers facilitating the theft of Police land." Commissioner for Police David Manning, in a separate statement, said that his force included "criminals in uniform".