GOVERNMENT
Papua
New Guinea, a constitutional monarchy, recognizes the Queen of
England as head of state. She is represented by a Governor General
who is elected by Parliament and who performs mainly ceremonial
functions. Papua New Guinea has three levels of government--national,
provincial, and local. There is a 109-member unicameral Parliament,
whose members are elected every 5 years. The Parliament in turn
elects the prime minister, who appoints his cabinet from members
of his party or coalition.
Members
of Parliament are elected from 19 provinces and the national capital
district of Port Moresby. Parliament introduced reforms in June
1995 to change the provincial government system, with regional
(at-large) members of Parliament becoming provincial governors,
while retaining their national seats in Parliament.
Papua
New Guinea's judiciary is independent of the government. It protects
constitutional rights and interprets the laws. There are several
levels, culminating in the Supreme Court.
Papua New Guinea's politics are highly competitive with most members elected on a personal and ethnic basis within their constituencies rather than as a result of party affiliation. Members of parliament are now elected in a limited preferential voting (LPV) system. There are several parties, but party allegiances are not strong. 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 5-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. In an effort to create greater stability by reducing incessant votes of no confidence, the Integrity of Political Parties Act was passed in 1999, forbidding members of each party in parliament from shifting loyalty to another party.
In 2003, the electoral system was changed to limited preferential voting, which has begun to encourage politicians to strike alliances and to be responsive to constituent concerns once elected. The new system was used in the 2007 national general elections. However, 53 election petitions disputing returns were registered with the courts. Allegations included bribery, intimidation, block voting, and undue influence.
On Bougainville Island, a 10-year rebellion was halted by a truce in 1997 and a permanent cease-fire was signed in April 1998. A peace agreement between the Government and ex-combatants was signed in August 2001. Under the eyes of a regional peace-monitoring force and a UN observer mission, the government and provincial leaders established an interim administration and made significant progress toward complete surrender/destruction of weapons. A constitution was drafted in 2004 and provincial government elections were held in May 2005. The elections were deemed to be free and fair by international observers, and Joseph Kabui was elected to serve as the first president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG). Bougainvilleans also participated in Papua New Guinea national elections in 2007 to elect representatives to the national parliament. Kabui died of a heart attack in June 2008, and a by-election for the presidency will be held November 28-December 5, 2008. A referendum was tentatively agreed to be held between 2015 and 2020, 10 to 15 years following formation of the ABG. Progress has been slow with the ABG initially focusing on disarmament, peace, and reconciliation. A small percentage of former fighters have created illegal "no go zones," particularly in the Central and South Bougainville.
Principal
Government Officials
Governor General--Sir Paulias Matane
Prime Minister--Sir Michael Somare
Deputy Prime Minister--Puka Temu
Foreign Minister--Samuel Abal
Ambassador to the United Nations--Robert Aisi
Ambassador to the United States--Evan Paki
Papua
New Guinea maintains an embassy
at 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-745-3680;
fax 202-745-3679). The Papua New Guinea mission to the United
Nations is at 801 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-682-6447).
Government Type: Constitutional
monarchy with parliamentary democracy.
Constitution: September 16, 1975.
Branches: Executive--British monarch (chief of state),
represented by governor general; prime minister (head of government).
Legislative--unicameral parliament. Judicial--independent; highest
is Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 provinces and the national
capital district (Port Moresby).
Major political parties: People's Progress Party (PPP),
Pangu Parti, People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Advance Papua
New Guinea, and Melanesian Alliance (MA).
Suffrage: Universal over 18 years of age.
