2017 Election

On June 15 the National Court dismissed the petition Kandiu filed, challenging Powes Parkop’s win as NCD Regional MP.

The petition was found to be incompetent, and that the grounds presented would not affect the result of the election regardless.

He filed an application in the Supreme Court, seeking leave to review that decision of June 15.

11 grounds seeking leave to review that decision were presented before Justice Oagile Key Dinake, who sat as a Singe Supreme Court judge.

The centres will be located in Lae, Mount Hagen and Port Moresby.

Lae will coordinate the troops that will look after operations in the Momase and New Guinea Islands regions, Hagen will be to cater for the Highlands region while Port Moresby the Southern region troops.

Defense Force Chief of Joint Operations, Colonel Ezekiel Wenzel, tells Loop PNG that the deployed troops will be carrying out secondary duty to the police, who will be leading the operations.

During a National Alliance Party event in which Gamato was invited to give an update on the commissions preparations, he revealed that they were currently addressing the issue as some of the RO’s and ARO’s decided to contest the elections while a few have passed on.

Director of the PNG National Research Institute (NRI), Dr. Charles Yala said technology, especially social media will play a far more important role in the elections, unseen before. 

“In the past bulk of the policy issue and the information used to be Port Moresby centred, the rest of PNG did not have access to this information or if they had, it was pretty much delayed,” Dr Yala said.  

“But with social media and mobile phone, the information is getting out there, whether it’s right information or wrong information, it is out there.”