Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has assured Parliament that the electoral boundaries will be fixed and electorates will be separated before the 2017 national elections.
However, O’Neill said it will take a lengthy process.
He said the government has already established the Electoral Boundaries Commission which comes under the supervision of the Electoral Commissioner to look into the electoral boundaries.
“Once they visit all the electorates in the country, they will then report back to the government to make recommendations.”
He said the last electoral boundary report presented to parliament was in the last term of parliament that was rejected by Parliament because of some fault in the report.
“We need to increase the number of seats in the parliament and create new electorates where there is a large population like Laigam Porgera, Kairuku Hiri, Kandrian Gloucester and others.
“There are about 12 electorates that will be separated,” he said.
O’Neill said the government will wait for the report from the Electoral Boundaries Commission about the electorates and will make recommendations before the 2017 elections.
However, he said the government should seriously look into making recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission as final and not come in subject to parliament in the long term.
“Because every time when this issue comes up, MPs tend to worry about their seats, which is natural and how it affects each and every one of us.
“But we must be aware that our demand for our country and population is there,” he said.
O’Neill said he will ask the Electoral Commissioner to progress the work of the Electoral Boundaries Commission as quickly as possible before the elections.
Meanwhile, he said the government will do an Appropriation Bill that will cater for the funding for the work of the Electoral Commissioner especially in preparations of the2017 elections
O’Neill was responding to Lagaip-Porgera MP Nickson Mangape during the Question Time in Parliament today.